Long time SBIR-involved Aerovironment, Inc. which - after 20 years of program involvement - in 2007 grew too large for the program, is best known for its ground-breaking work in the field of unmanned aerial systems over many decades under the leadership of late Dr. Paul MacCready, whom Time magazine called one of the "greatest minds of the 20th century." SInce graduating from SBIR, the firm has expanded its efforts to address the power needs of clean technology. The company now operates through two segments. (1) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and (2) Efficient Energy Systems (EES). The UAS segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production, support, and operation of UAS that provide situational awareness, multi-band communications, and other mission effects to increase the security of the company's customer's operations. The company sells the majority of its UAS products and services to the U.S. Department of Defense, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, and Air Force. The company's small UAS, including Raven, Wasp AE, Puma, and Shrike, are designed to provide ISR and communications, including real-time tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat assessment, and geographic data, directly to the small tactical unit or individual warfighter. Its small UAS wirelessly transmit critical live video and other information generated by their payload of electro-optical or infrared sensors directly to a hand-held ground control unit, enabling the operator to view and capture images, during the day or at night, on the control unit. The company's ground control systems allow the operator to control the aircraft by programming it for GPS-based autonomous navigation using operator-designated way-points and also provide for manual flight operation. All of its small UAS in production operate from its common ground control system. In military applications, the company's small systems enable tactical commanders to observe around the next corner, to the next intersection or past the ridgeline in real-time. EES This segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production, support, and operation of efficient electric energy systems that address the improving demand for electric transportation solutions to include material handling vehicles and airport ground support equipment, and power cycling and test systems for developers and manufacturers of electric vehicles, as well as battery packs, electric motors, and fuel cells. The company has developed solutions to support the adoption and use of electric vehicles from every major automaker and various startups worldwide offering an integrated solution designed to enable the adoption and the practical use of electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
