AV Selected for U.S. Army Next-Generation C-UAS Missile Program, Awarded $95.9M Contract to Deliver FE-1 for U.S. Army's Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) Program

AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a leading provider of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and advanced air and missile defense technologies, has been selected to deliver the U.S. Army’s Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM). Along with this selection, AV was awarded a $95.9 million contract for the U.S. Army's Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) program through the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC) Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC). As part of the LRKI program, AV will manufacture and deliver its Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic C-UAS missile.

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AV’s Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic C-UAS missile launches during testing earlier this year at Yuma Proving Ground [Credit: AV]

"FE-1 strengthens our nation’s air defense arsenal by providing an urgently needed kinetic C-UAS solution–built to fill the gaps in today’s defense capabilities and meet the adversarial threats of tomorrow,” said Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of AV’s Precision Strike and Defense Systems Group. “This selection by the U.S. Army is a testament to AV’s intentional investments, unmatched agility and technical expertise, and unwavering commitment to our nation’s national security priorities. We are quickly scaling production to deliver FE-1 to the frontlines, where they’ll provide critical warfighter protection and inform our development for full-rate manufacturing.”

FE-1 is a low-cost, high-performance solution to neutralize Groups 2 and 3 UAS while maintaining residual capability against Group 1 UAS, fixed wing, and rotary wing aircraft with increased lethality, extended range, and rapid launch capabilities. It has already achieved several key development milestones, including a successful live-fire demonstration of its dual-thrust solid rocket motor, controlled test vehicle (CTV) launches, and warhead tests. These achievements demonstrate FE-1's technological maturity and reduced technical risk in preparation for field deployment.

"FE-1 is more than just a missile. It's a transformative capability for next-generation air and missile defense,” said Daniel Noland, Senior Director of Strategic Capture for AV. “Our team–side by side with our industry partners and U.S. Army customers–has put in long hours in the lab and on the range because they believed in the mission: to rapidly develop the technology our warfighters need to tackle our nation’s toughest aerial threats. We’re ready to transition this disruptive technology from research and development to the battlefield and focused on ramping up manufacturing to deliver with scale and speed.”