AeroVironment completes $4.1B acqusition of BlueHalo

Arlington County-based defense contractor AeroVironment on Thursday announced that it has successfully completed its $4.1 billion acquisition of Arlington aerospace and defense tech firm BlueHalo.

Previously owned by private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, BlueHalo works in space technologies, counter-uncrewed aircraft systems, directed energy, electronic warfare, cyber, artificial intelligence and uncrewed underwater vehicles.

The deal was first announced in November 2024 and in April AeroVironment announced that its stockholders approved the purchase.

“We are excited to complete the acquisition of BlueHalo and move forward as an even stronger and more unified AV that provides the scale, talent, and technology needed to lead in the most critical areas of modern defense,” AeroVironment President and CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a statement. “By bringing together two mission-focused organizations, the new AV is built to accelerate innovation, strengthen our customer partnerships, and deliver operational impact across every domain. This is a pivotal step in our journey and one that positions us to create long-term value for shareholders and strategic advantages for our customers.”

AeroVironment previously said the combined company will be based at AeroVironment‘s corporate headquarters in Arlington and that the acquisition will allow for administrative and operational cost savings. The combined company is expected to deliver more than $1.7 billion in revenue.

As part of the transaction, David Wodlinger and Henry Albers, both from Arlington Capital Partners, have joined AeroVironment’s board of directors, which is expanding to 10 members.

Nawabi will remain chairman, president and CEO of AeroVironment. The company says the combined leadership team includes executives from both organizations, who will bring experience in the areas of autonomy, space systems, cyber operations and defense technology.

AeroVironment says company will operate in two business segments: Autonomous Systems; and Space, Cyber and Directed Energy.

AeroVironment says Autonomous Systems, which is being led by Trace Stevenson, encompasses uncrewed systems, precision strike and one-way attack systems, defense systems, ground and maritime robotic solutions and its MacCready Works segment.

The Space, Cyber and Directed Energy Segment, being led by BlueHalo’s former chief operating officer Trip Ferguson, encompasses space technologies, directed energy solutions, cyber solutions and mission services.