AeroVironment wins $500M Army contract

Arlington County-based defense contractor AeroVironment announced Monday that it has been awarded a three-year Army contract worth up to $500 million to provide technology to defend military installations and other sites against drone attacks.

The contract supports the Domestic Shield Program, which aims to improve the military’s ability to proactively detect and defeat drones threatening critical assets and high-risk facilities. AeroVironment said the effort will strengthen interagency data sharing and operational coordination.

The Domestic Shield Program is an initiative of Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which the Army established in 2025 to align resources better and rapidly deploy counter-drone capabilities to warfighters.

“Domestic Shield is about protecting Americans where they live and work, and safeguarding the critical infrastructure that underpins our economy and national security,” AeroVironment President and CEO Wahid Nawabi said in a statement. “This award reflects strong confidence in AV, our people and our technology and it reinforces the shared obligation we have to stay ahead of rapidly evolving drone threats, not only in contested theaters abroad, but in the skies over our own communities.”

In April, the Department of Defense announced that JIATF-401 has committed over $600 million to strengthen counter-unmanned aircraft systems capabilities in support of Operation Epic Fury and homeland defense. Operation Epic Fury aims to destroy Iranian missiles, navy and other security infrastructure.

“JIATF-401’s single measure of effectiveness is to rapidly deliver counter-drone capabilities to our warfighters at home and abroad,” said Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF-401, in a statement. “By investing in the latest technology, we are adding another tool in a layered defense so we can respond swiftly and effectively to any illicit drone threats.”

Headquartered in Arlington, AeroVironment specializes in intelligent multi-domain robotic systems, uncrewed aircraft and ground systems, sensors, software analytics and connectivity. The company reported $820.6 million in fiscal 2025 revenue, up 14% from the previous year. It has about 4,000 employees.

In the past year and a half, AeroVironment has completed two significant acquisitions, including the $200 million purchase of Empirical Systems Aerospace in March and its $4.1 billion acquisition of BlueHalo in May 2025.