Press release
AV Unleashes Red Dragon: A New Breed of Fully Autonomous, GPS-Denied One-Way Attack Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Pioneering a New Class of Autonomous Systems Built for GPS-Denied, High-Threat Environments ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”)
About this update from Aerovironment, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nPioneering a New Class of Autonomous Systems Built for GPS-Denied, High-Threat Environments\n\n ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nAeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV) today announced the launch of Red Dragon™, a fully autonomous capable, software-defined unmanned aircraft system (UAS) designed for one-way attack missions in high-threat, GPS-denied, and communications-degraded environments. Developed as part of AV’s expanding portfolio of tactical autonomy, Red Dragon is built on AV’s AVACORE™ shared software architecture—enabling rapid development, scalable manufacturing, and modular mission integration. AV’s industry-leading SPOTR-Edge™ perception system enables detection and classification of targets to aid the operator in making decisions with confidence via AV’s proprietary DDIL radio system.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250506910031/en/Red Dragon one-way attack UAS launches—bringing the future of autonomous precision strike capabilities to the battlefield today. [Photo: AV]\nRed Dragon delivers a combination of autonomy, electronic warfare resilience, and tactical flexibility previously unavailable in its class. It is designed to penetrate contested airspace and operate effectively in denied, disrupted, intermittent, and low-bandwidth (DDIL) environments. The system is capable of autonomous execution of mission objectives without reliance on continuous operator input or satellite navigation.\n\nDesigned for manufacturing at scale, Red Dragon enables mass production, rapid deployment, and simplified logistics to meet operational demands. It is optimized for cross-domain use—across air, land, and maritime—and is designed so small teams can be trained quickly and effectively.\n\n“Red Dragon represents a significant step forward in autonomous lethality,” said Jeff Rodrian, Executive Vice President, MacCready Works. “By combining advanced autonomy, GNSS-independent navigation, and mass producibility, Red Dragon delivers a mission-ready system designed for today’s contested battlespace. It is the first of a new generation of autonomous systems built for scale, speed, and operational relevance.”\n\n“At AV, our mission is to change the way wars are fought—by putting the safety, survivability, and operational advantage of our warfighters first,”...