AertoVironment has announced it received a US$10,534,348 firm-fixed-price US Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract award on 21 January 2022. The contract includes the delivery of PUMA LE small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) over a six-year period to an allied nation, as well as add-on air vehicle kits, initial spares packages, training and support.
Weighing only 23.5 pounds (10.7 kg), the ultra-lightweight PUMA LE is hand or bungee launchable. The aircraft comes equipped with the MANTIS i45 gimbaled EO/IR sensor suite and secondary payload bay with dedicated power supply and Ethernet for a total payload capacity of 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). According to the company, on-board batteries provide up to 6.5 hours of flight endurance with an operational range of 37.2 miles (60 km) when used with AeroVironment’s Long-Range Tracking Antenna (LRTA) and PUMA SMART 2500 battery.
JH
