As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged members of Congress for more help against Russia on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine.

Under the new massive military aid package, Ukraine will be provided with long-range missiles and 100 "tactical unmanned aerial systems," as Biden called them. More precisely, these are Switchblade armed drones.

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As the Pentagon moves resources to address the new era of strategic competition, uncrewed systems – in the air, in the sea, and on land – will be the tip of the sword for our sailors, marines, soldiers and airmen. This era is evolving to one that is multi-domain, features rising peer and near-peer adversaries, and is driven by industry innovation.

For the U.S. to maintain its security advantage in a multi-domain battlespace where force overmatch is no longer an absolute, a strategic shift needs to take place from a reliance on large and expensive traditional military assets to a distributed warfare and force structure.

Wahid Nawabi, President, Chairman and CEO of AeroVironment, a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, spoke with AUVSI about how a transition to distributed warfare, supported by unmanned systems, will maintain U.S. competitiveness this new era.

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"Ingenuity" helicopter far exceeding expectations; Chopper has now flown nearly four times more missions on Mars than originally planned. It's a tiny, experimental unmanned helicopter built in Ventura County that made headlines around the world, as it made the first powered flight in the atmosphere of another planet. While the headlines are gone, Ingenuity is still flying, long past its projected timeline.

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• Portable, rugged Puma 3 All Environment (AE) unmanned aircraft system provides immediate tactical reconnaissance capabilities for land and maritime operations
• Foreign Military Sales program promotes interoperability among U.S. and allied forces for joint operations

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 15, 2022 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today announced it received a $8,541,428 firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract award on Jan. 27, 2022 to provide Puma™ 3 AE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), initial spares packages, training and support to an allied nation. Delivery is anticipated by November 2022.

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• Puma LE (Long Endurance) provides Group 2 capabilities in a Group 1 footprint and features up to 6.5 hours of flight endurance for an extended time on station – all in a two-case mission packout
• Customer joins growing number of allied government forces fielding AeroVironment’s advanced, battle-proven small unmanned aircraft systems
• Foreign Military Sales program promotes interoperability among U.S. and allied forces for joint operations

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 9, 2022 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV) a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today announced it received a $10,534,348 firm-fixed-price U.S. Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract award on Jan. 21, 2022. The contract includes the delivery of Puma™ LE small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over a six-year period to an allied nation, as well as add-on air vehicle kits, initial spares packages, training and support.

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The future of warfare and the Defense Department’s latest concept of operations—specifically all-domain operations and distributed operations—will be written by unmanned systems operating at the tactical edge, either individually or as part of a swarm, with interoperability for both manned-unmanned and unmanned-unmanned teaming operations.

In this interview with Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president and chief executive officer of AeroVironment, we discuss how expensive military assets can be replaced and augmented with more affordable and attritable unmanned systems enabled by the meshing of autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, machine learning and edge computing.

• Sensor to Shooter (S2S) enables instantaneous machine-to-machine transfer of target coordinates from AeroVironment’s small unmanned aircraft systems to Switchblade 300 loitering missile systems
• S2S software securely relays mission-critical, real-time video and flight telemetry data, reducing engagement timelines and operator cognitive load
• Switchblade 300 Sensor to Shooter Kit enables users to quickly update FalconView with the S2S software on their laptop and connect to the included Pocket Digital Data Link (pDDL)

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 18, 2022 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in intelligent, multi-domain robotic systems, today introduced the Switchblade® 300 Sensor to Shooter Kit, a capability that enables operators to instantly transfer target coordinates from AeroVironment’s small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) – Puma™ 3 AE, Puma™ LE, Raven® B or Wasp® AE – to Switchblade 300 loitering missile systems.

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AeroVironment continues to make a positive impact in the Ventura County community through its Corporate Social Responsibility Program. In 2021, AeroVironment supported the Simi Valley Education Foundation in funding 18 STEM-related enhancement grants to advance school projects in science, technology, education and math.

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The Switchblade drone doesn’t launch missiles, but is itself a missile. NBC News’ Ken Dilanian reports from the Utah desert where he saw a demonstration of the so-called “killer” drone being directed to an empty truck before exploding. The technology can also present new risks for both the U.S. and its adversaries, experts say.

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DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah—The killer drone whooshed out of its launch tube, spreading its carbon wings and shooting into the sky.

Flying too fast for the naked eye to track, the battery-powered robot circled the Utah desert, hunting for the target it had been programmed to strike. Moments later, the drone sailed through the driver’s side window of an empty pick-up truck and exploded in a fireball.

“Good hit,” exclaimed an operator from AeroVironment, the company that produces the drone and sells it to the U.S. military.

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