AeroVironment, Inc. (AeroVironment) has received order of worth $16.8 million from US Army to produce 50 new RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) equipped with its Digital Data Link (DDL). This production order was issued on January 22, 2009, under an existing contract and includes initial spares packages and DDL retrofit kits for 206 existing Raven systems. The company has designed its DDL to conform to the weight, volume and power parameters of its 4.2 pound Raven small UAS.
The launch of AeroVironment’s DDL follows several years of internally funded research and development in addition to a $7.6 million contract awarded in October 2008 to complete R&D activities.
“This Digital Data Link enhances the capabilities of our Raven system by increasing the number of communication channels by a factor of four, enabling our customers to use more Raven systems where they need them,” said John Grabowsky, executive vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS segment. “Our DDL also provides enhanced communications security, and establishes the foundation for a new, highly capable and portable communications network over the battlefield. This marks the transition of an important research and development program into production.”
All of AeroVironment’s small UAS originally employed a four-channel analog data link, limiting the number of aircraft that can be operated in a given geographical area. The company plans to develop a smaller version of its DDL that can be incorporated into its smallest production UAS, Wasp.
The Raven unmanned aircraft is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for over the hill and around the corner reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. US armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection.
In addition to the Raven system, AeroVironment’s small UAS include Puma AE and Wasp, which are also hand-launched and controlled by AeroVironment’s hand-held ground control station. Each aircraft in AeroVironment’s family of small UAS is interoperable and tailored to address a variety of operational user needs. The company’s UAS logistics operation supports systems deployed worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of small unmanned aircraft to date. The international purchasers of Raven systems include Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain.