AEVEX has won an $18.5 million U.S. Air Force contract to supply Group 3 one-way attack drones with field support.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded California-based AEVEX Aerospace an $18.5 million contract to provide tactical drones designed for one-way attack missions. The deal includes aircraft production along with technical and field support services.
These drones are classified as Group 3 unmanned aerial systems. They weigh less than 1,320 pounds , fly below 18,000 feet below, and have speeds under 250 knots . Announced on May 13, AEVEX said the program will rely on additive manufacturing and scalable 3D-printing methods to speed up production and field deployment.
The company plans to use its manufacturing and engineering network spread across Alabama, California, Florida, Ohio, and Virginia to complete the work. This contract shows that the U.S. military is rapidly increasing investment in, also called loitering munitions. These drones combine features of cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft and are meant to strike targets without returning to base. The company has not revealed which aircraft model it will supply under the contract.
The company makes several Group 3 drones, such as the Raker, Onyx, Dominator, and Disruptor. These drones can carry different payloads and have various ranges, with some able to fly up to 756 nautical miles . The company said the drone selected for the Air Force contract was designed with “affordability, manufacturability, and mission flexibility” in mind. According to the firm, the platform also uses autonomy frameworks that reduce operator workload and support multiple operational requirements.
Some of the company’s systems can continue operating in GPS-denied environments using visual navigation, hardened satellite navigation, and alternative positioning technologies. This contract comes as the Pentagon is using more one-way attackin active combat zones. One well-known example is the LUCAS system, or Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System, which was developed from the FLM 136 drone made by Arizona-based SpektreWorks. The FLM 136 was first made when the U.S. military wanted a low-cost target drone based on Iran’s Shahed-136.
The project later grew into a frontline strike weapon that can carry a warhead bigger than a Hellfire missile while maintaining a flight range of about 434 nautical miles . The U.S. military set up its first squadron just for one-way attack drones in December and sent LUCAS systems to the Middle East. These drones were later used in joint US-Israeli operations against Iran earlier this year.
Russia has also increased production of its Shahed-based Geran-2 drones, showing that low-cost autonomous strike aircraft are now a key part of modern warfare. The company has already worked closely with U.S. defense customers on drone production, maintenance, and field support. Its Phoenix Ghost loitering munitions have also been sent to Ukraine during the war with Russia.
The company also makes the Atlas Group 2 kamikaze drone, which the U.S. Army chose for its Launched Effects Short Range program.about the project.
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