Digital upgrade for Raven

AeroVironment Inc. (AVAV: News ) announced that it received firm fixed-price orders valued at $20.73 million for digital Raven unmanned aircraft systems and digital retrofit kits, and $17.14 million for Raven system spare parts, repairs and training services for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. The orders were released under the existing U.S. Army joint small UAS program of record for AeroVironment’s Raven.

The Raven unmanned aircraft is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched sensor platform that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for “over the hill” and “around the corner” reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition in support of tactical units. U.S. armed forces use Raven systems extensively for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning and force protection.