Unmanned aerial systems manufacturer AeroVironment says it has secured a contract worth $5.9 million for the delivery of its Puma 3 AE tactical UAS to an unidentified European customer.
The foreign military sales (FMS) contract award that was awarded to AeroVironment late last year will see the company deliver an unspecified quantities of the systems by April 2021.
The Puma UAS is in service with a number of global operators and has most recently been deployed by the Royal Navy on a Mediterranean Sea deployment.
Puma 3 is designed for both land and maritime operations. The hand-launched UAS has a wingspan of 9.2 feet, weighs 15 pounds and can operate for up to 2.5 hours. The aircraft also has a range of 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) with a standard antenna, and up to 37.2 miles (60 kilometers) with AeroVironment’s Long-Range Tracking Antenna (LRTA).
It also features reduced system packaging with a flyable configuration and GCS in one case. Capable of landing in water or on land, the all-environment Puma 3 AE and Mantis i45 EO/IR sensor suite empower operators with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the tactical UAS class.
Prior to the Puma contract announcement, the company revealed it had received a $7 million task order from the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) for its JUMP 20 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS.
