REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. Army battlefield reconnaissance experts needed several kinds of handheld small uncrewed aircraft to help infantry soldiers conduct intelligence and surveillance missions on the battlefield. They found a solution from AeroVironment Inc. in Simi Valley, Calif.
Officials of the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced an $874.3 million contract to AeroVironment earlier this month for Puma 3 AE (All Environment), Puma Long Endurance (LE), Puma AE/LE Hybrid, and RQ-11 Raven small uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The Puma 3 AE is a third-generation small UAV for land and maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in extreme weather and GPS-denied areas. Puma 3 AE weighs 15 pounds, has a 9.5-foot wingspan, and can fly infrared sensor payloads at altitudes as high as 300 to 500 feet at speeds as fast as 45 knots.
It can launch by hand, bungee, rail, or vehicle, with recoveries possible via deep-stall landing on ground or water. It can fly for as long as three hours, and performs real-time situational awareness & actionable intelligence.
Puma 3 LE
The Puma 3 LE for land and maritime applications. It weighs 23.8 pounds, carries 5.5 pounds of sensor payloads, and can fly for 6.5 hours to ranges as far as 60 kilometers.
The Puma AE/LE Hybrid provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and is hand-launched for land and maritime operations. It weighs about 12.8 pounds with payloads, offers as long as 2 hours of flight endurance, and has a line-of-sight range as far as 20 kilometers. Soldiers in the field can launch and recover it quickly without special equipment even on unprepared terrain.
The Puma LE can fly for as long as 6.5 hours, weighs around 23.8 pounds, and offers interchangeable payloads such as the Mantis i45 and i45N sensors for day and night operations.
Raven uncrewed aircraft
The Raven is for tactical reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition. It has a wingspan of 4.5 feet, is three feet long, and weighs about 4.2 pounds. It can fly at altitudes between 100 and 500 feet, and can fly for 60 to 90 minutes to distances of about 10 kilometers.
Raven has autonomous navigation and autoland capabilities, and can land manually and autonomously via GPS waypoint navigation. It provides real-time situational awareness with a gimbaled infrared camera and laser pointer payload for target illumination.
On this contract, AeroVironment will do the work at locations to be determined with each order, and should be finished by October 2030. For more information contact AeroVironment online at www.avinc.com, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.
