Army contracts for future UAS needs

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MONROVIA, Calif., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- AeroVironment, a maker of unmanned aerial systems, and four others have been given a U.S. Army procurement and support contract for small UASs.

The award is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a maximum value $248 million.

Under the award, recipients will compete to fulfill the Army's future small UAS requirements.

"We have successfully competed for every major United States Department of Defense program of record involving small UAS and have delivered highly reliable systems with increasing capability to support our warfighters," said Roy Minson, AeroVironment senior vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment.

"This new IDIQ contract provides for continued procurement of small UAS, reflecting the high value of this capability. We look forward to supporting the U.S. Army and other customers with market leading small UAS solutions that anticipate the ever-evolving needs of warfighters and address the budgetary constraints of governments."

AeroVironment produces the RQ-11B Raven, Wasp AE, RQ-20A Puma and the Shrike VTOL, small UAS which operate with a common ground control system.