Government shutdown or no, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer AeroVironment (AVAV 3.72%) is announcing a defense contract win for its systems.
On Wednesday, AeroVironment announced a $20 million order from the U.S. Army for gimbaled sensor payloads to be mounted on its RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems. The payloads in question, dubbed Mantis, are rotatable wireless cameras with both daylight and infrared thermal imaging capability. They will be used to upgrade the Army's fleet of Raven UAVs, which are remotely operated drone aircraft small enough to be carried in a soldier's backpack.
The Pentagon initially authorized funding for these Mantis systems via a contract in December, and today's announcement confirms a definite order has been placed, to be delivered within the next 12 months.
To date, AeroVironment has delivered more than 5,000 Raven UAVs to the Army.
