Press release
AeroVironment Expands Puma™ Visual Navigation System (VNS) Kit to Puma LE
Upgrade enables navigation in GNSS-contested environments for the Puma LE ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a
About this update from Aerovironment, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nUpgrade enables navigation in GNSS-contested environments for the Puma LE\n\n ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in all-domain defense systems, today announced the integration of its Visual Navigation System (VNS) kit with the Puma™ Long Endurance (LE) small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS), delivering Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)-denied navigation capability to ensure mission success.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204878756/en/Puma LE gains GNSS-denied navigation with AV’s Visual Navigation System (VNS kit), ensuring precise, resilient flight and mission continuity in contested environments.\nFirst introduced in 2022 for the Puma 2 AE and Puma 3 AE, the VNS kit uses advanced computer vision and onboard processing to deliver precise, GNSS-independent navigation, and its integration into Puma LE now extends this capability across the full Puma family for greater flexibility and resilience in degraded or denied environments.\n\n“Assured navigation is critical to the mission, especially as GNSS becomes an increasingly vulnerable resource,” said Jason Hendrix, Vice President of Small Uncrewed Systems for AV. “By fusing visual and inertial data in real time, the system enables uninterrupted flight paths, accurate geolocation, and mission continuity in unreliable GNSS regions.”\n\nUsing a suite of downward-facing sensors, cameras and onboard computing, the VNS kit performs Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) to capture and analyze terrain imagery, estimating true aircraft position in real time. The system fuses continuous visual data from the cameras with motion inputs from onboard inertial sensors to calculate precise position, velocity, and orientation—allowing the aircraft to know where it is and where it is going when GNSS is not available. It automatically transitions between GNSS-enabled and GNSS-denied modes with zero pilot input, ensuring uninterrupted mission continuity in contested environments.\n\nIn September, AV announced several upgrades to the Puma LE platform that include the integration of a Laser Target Designator and the release of the Universal Gimbal Kit, enhancements that evolve Puma LE beyond ISR into a cutting-edge precision-engagement system.\n\n“Every upgrade ...