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MONROVIA, Calif., 27 May 2008. Researchers at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are asking AeroVironment Inc. in Monrovia, Calif., to design and build a flying prototype for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program.
AeroVironment completed a preliminary design review at the end of its Phase I, $1.7 million program. Phase II, which started in March, is a six-month, $636,000 program to demonstrate a rudimentary, 3-inch flapping-wing air vehicle system. Following a demonstration, DARPA has the option to extend the program for an additional 18 months which could increase the phase II contract value.
The NAV program seeks to develop a class of air vehicles capable of indoor and outdoor operations. Employing biological mimicry at an extremely small scale this unconventional aircraft is designed to provide military reconnaissance capabilities in urban environments. AeroVironment's NAV is designed to weigh no more than 10 grams and have the ability to carry a payload as heavy as two grams. AeroVironment's NAV team also developed the Black Widow and Wasp MAVs for DARPA.
"Our Raven and Wasp III UAS began as early development programs similar to the NAV program, and help protect the lives and enhance the operational effectiveness of warfighters and first responders," says John Grabowsky, AeroVironment executive vice president and general manager of unmanned aircraft systems.
U.S. armed forces use AeroVironment's hand-launched unmanned air systems for missions such as base security, route reconnaissance, mission planning, battle damage assessment and force protection. The United States Army reported that its Ravens were flown for approximately 150,000 combat hours in 2007. AeroVironment has delivered over 9,000 small unmanned aircraft to date, including Raven, Wasp and Puma.
For more information contact AeroVironment online at www.avinc.com.
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