U.S. Air Force has awarded Aevex Corporation a $18.5 million contract for the delivery of autonomous one way attack drones. Announced on 13th May the production contract also includes engineering and field services support.
This USAF order supports Aevex Group 3 unmanned aircraft systems, although no additional details were disclosed. As per company`s product portfolio these might include Raker and Disrupter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The Raker UAS system leverage additive manufacturing processes to enable scalable production and rapid fielding. The platform is designed for affordability, manufacturability, and mission flexibility.
Both these platfroms also support autonomy‑enabling frameworks that help reduce operator workload and support operational versatility.
This UAS can be employed for ISR, communication relays and precision strike roles. It has a maximum take-off weight of 75.8 kg, and a payload carrying capacity of 30.4 kg. The platform has an endurance of 16 hours and a range of 1000+ km.
Raker makes use of ForgeX additive manufacturing technology which uses modular designs, and digital engineering to enable UAS to be fabricated even at the tactical edge of the battlefield. By moving production closer to the battlefield, logistics are streamlined and sustainment gets simplified. This distributed manufacturing model delivers a decisive advantage in contested environments, allowing operators to manufacture, launch, and adapt drones within hours.
The UAS also has an open architecture which enables it to integrate third-party sensors, software, and payloads and enables interoperability and customization. It is rail launched.
This UAS can be employed for operational Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), strike, and electronic warfare roles. It has a length of 3.06 m, a wingspan of 4.8 m, a maximum take-off weight of 83.9 kg, and a payload carrying capacity of 22.6 kg. The platform can employ a fragmentation or a perpetrator warheads (for anti-armor roles). It has an endurance of 14+ hours and a range of 1400 km. The UAS also has an open architecture which enables it to integrate third-party sensors, software, and payloads and enables interoperability and customization.
Both these drone makes use of CompassCORE vision-based navigational system. It utilizes advanced image processing, nonlinear sensor fusion, and machine learning to combine AI-driven scene matching with real-time integrity monitoring. The system provides less than 5-meter RMS position accuracy across diverse terrain, cloud, and lighting conditions. Enabling them to operate in GPS denied and contested environments.
The CompassCORE system is also capable of supporting Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) and Optical Target Tracking along with detecting jamming and spoofing.
The contract award is consistent with US Department of War`s Drone Dominance Initiative. This initiative identifies the need to strengthen the U.S. drone manufacturing base and rapidly arming combat units with low-cost attack drones. The FY 2027 US DoW budget continues the funding of the drone dominance initiative and includes $39.2 billion for a multi-year investment in autonomous systems procurement and domestic production capacity.
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