Aerovironment, Inc.

Aerovironment, Inc. is a manufacturer and prime contractor delivering unmanned aerial systems, loitering munition platforms, and associated hardware, spare parts, training, and logistics support to the Department of Defense across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, with 86% of recent awards as a prime contractor and 14% as a subcontractor under full-and-open competition carrying no set-aside designations. Headquartered in Simi Valley, California, Aerovironment operates as a for-profit manufacturer of goods with subsidiary relationships including Empirical Systems Aerospace Inc. and BlueHalo LLC. The company competes exclusively in unrestricted, full-and-open procurements across its federal footprint.

Customer concentration sits overwhelmingly with the Army and Navy. The top five customer agencies account for 65% of awards by count and 84% of combined potential value. The Army Acquisition Support Center's Program Executive Office Soldier (14 awards, $1.73 billion combined potential value) and PEO Aviation (41 awards, $1.1 billion) dominate the portfolio, followed by the Department of the Air Force (4 awards, $529.3 million), the Marine Corps (3 awards, $266.9 million), and the Office of Naval Research (19 awards, $129.4 million). The divergence between award count and dollar magnitude reflects Aerovironment's role as a sole-source supplier on large indefinite delivery contracts anchoring most of the dollar volume while sustaining numerous smaller task orders and purchase orders across logistics and sustainment activities.

Aerovironment's parent vehicle position reflects a portfolio of single-award indefinite delivery contracts with major defense agencies. The most significant vehicle is the Army PEO Soldier IDC W91CRB24D0011 (Indefinite Delivery Contract for Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance), valued at $990 million with a ceiling through August 30, 2029, supporting procurement of Switchblade 300 and 600 loitering munitions, fire control systems, and field services representatives support. Ten delivery orders have been issued under this vehicle totaling $738.6 million in combined potential value, including a $254.5 million delivery order (January 2, 2026), a $220.1 million order for loitering munitions all-up rounds (January 18, 2025), and a $129.5 million order for fire control systems and battery chargers (August 30, 2024). A second major Army vehicle is the PEO Aviation IDC W58RGZ26D0001, valued at $874.3 million through October 31, 2030, procuring unmanned aerial systems, spare parts, training, and logistics support for Foreign Military Sales and operations. Nine delivery orders under this vehicle total $35.3 million combined potential value, including orders supporting Tunisia ($6.3 million, October 27, 2025), Estonia ($3.6 million, February 13, 2026), and Iraq ($2.6 million, November 18, 2025). Aerovironment also holds the Air Force IDIQ for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Hurricane Drones, valued at $480 million through October 22, 2028, which issued a $49.3 million delivery order on October 3, 2025. The Marine Corps Organic Precision Fires-Light (OPF-L) IDC, valued at $249 million through April 8, 2032, has issued two delivery orders totaling approximately $17.9 million. Additional vehicles include an Army Space and Missile Defense Command IDIQ ($13.5 million, February 22, 2022 through February 21, 2027) for procurement and production services, and multiple other transaction agreements with the Army and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for autonomous systems development and prototyping.

Concrete capability delivery spans tactical unmanned aerial systems (Puma AE, Puma LE, Raven platforms), loitering munition systems (Switchblade 300 and 600), unmanned ground vehicles, and associated ground control stations, spare parts, and training. Representative work includes a $62.6 million definitive contract with PEO Aviation for Puma AE 3 and LE systems, accessories, and contractor logistics support for Ukraine (April 30, 2025); a $45.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order from the Office of Naval Research for SBIR Phase III research and development (February 3, 2026); a $13.7 million Office of Naval Research delivery order for SBIR Phase III R&D (June 12, 2024); a $49.3 million Air Force delivery order for SUAS Hurricane Drones (October 3, 2025); and a $575,283 Federal Railroad Administration definitive contract for development of an in-situ/handheld non-destructive evaluation system for rail car wheel journal bearings (June 23, 2026). The company also delivers Other Transaction Agreements, including a $3.1 million automated target recognition platform from the Office of Naval Research (August 20, 2025) and multiple Army OTA vehicles for human-machine integrated formations and prototype development.

Activity has grown significantly over the measurement window. Awards per year climbed from 19 in 2022 to a peak of 36 in 2024, with 32 awards in 2025 and 19 through mid-2026. Combined potential value across the 141-award portfolio totals $4.47 billion, with $1.71 billion (38%) obligated to date. Recompete pressure is material: 28 awards with ultimate completion dates in the next twenty-four months carry combined potential value of $702.3 million, concentrated in the PEO Soldier loitering munition orders and multiple PEO Aviation foreign military sales and training task orders maturing between mid-2026 and mid-2027.

In its subcontractor role, Aerovironment supplies unmanned systems, drones, components, and training to Booz Allen Hamilton on defense systems analysis and engineering development (multiple sub-awards including EMAPS 2 and EDITS initiatives), HII Mission Technologies on force protection and expeditionary surveillance (purchase of drones, peripherals, and VOX Systems), Georgia Tech Applied Research on advanced threats research and development, Mantech TSG-2 Joint Venture on Marine Corps force design initiatives, and Parsons Government Services on advanced sensor capabilities. These engagements position Aerovironment as a component supplier and subject-matter expert within larger system integration primes rather than a full-system integrator on sub-awards.

Top NAICS categories reflect the company's manufacturing posture: Aircraft Manufacturing (61 awards), Research and Development in Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (28 awards), Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing (12 awards). Top PSC codes align with the capability: Unmanned Aircraft (57 awards) and Guided Missile Systems, Complete (13 awards). The company's federal footprint is concentrated in unmanned aerial systems procurement, logistics support, and associated prototype development across the Army and Navy, with no civilian agency presence beyond the Federal Railroad Administration contract noted above.