Yahoo Finance AeroVironment (AVAV) Partners Parry Labs for UAS for Army
AeroVironment Inc. AVAV recently announced that it has entered into a teaming agreement with Parry Labs to enhance the development of the new P550 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS).
The partnership enables the integration of advanced digital engineering, software and mission system hardware into the P550, suitable for the U.S. Army’s Long Range Reconnaissance (LRR) program.
Significance of P550
AeroVironment’s P550 UAS is purpose-built for LRR missions, equipped with advanced artificial intelligence and autonomy capabilities and maximum payload versatility.
With the modular open systems approach, the U.S. Army will have access to rapid and secure component upgrades across programs and platforms. The UAS will offer easy integration and superior flexibility during missions.
AeroVironment’s Prospects in UAV Market
Amid consistent spending on military arms and ammunition, and other warfare needs, more intelligent and affordable unmanned systems deployment is being witnessed lately. This tends to benefit AeroVironment, which enjoys the most widely deployed fleet of UAS globally.
AeroVironment’s portfolio includes small UAS like the PUMA LE, PUMA 3 AE and VAPOR 55 MX, while the medium UAS include the JUMP 20 and T-20. The company ships Group 1 UAS to more than 55 countries. It has delivered more than 35,000 unmanned aircraft worldwide, with more than 4 million accumulated flight hours.
Growth Prospects & Peer Moves
Increasing geopolitical tensions worldwide have prompted nations to strengthen their defense systems manifold. In this context, per the report from the Mordor Intelligence firm, the global Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) market is expected to witness a CAGR of 13.74% during 2024-2029.
Such massive growth projections indicate solid opportunities for AeroVironment, with its Unmanned Systems segment comprising 61% of total revenues in third-quarter fiscal 2024.
Other defense primes like Lockheed Martin LMT, Northrop Grumman NOC and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions KTOS are also likely to benefit from the expanding UAV market.
Lockheed Martin has a vast portfolio of autonomous aircraft, including Indago 3, MORFIUS, Stalker UAS, TRACER etc. Sikorsky’s MATRIX technology will one day enable utility helicopters to resupply forward forces on the future battlefield without any human pilots or crew on board.
LMT boasts a long-term (three-to-five years) earnings growth rate of 4.2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 sales implies an improvement of 2.7% from the prior-year figure.
Northrop Grumman is a leader in autonomous systems and offers an impressive portfolio of UAVs, which include Global Hawk, MQ-4C Triton, Fire Scout, Bat unmanned aircraft system etc. In 2023, NOC secured $1.5 billion as awards for Triton. On Apr 3, 2024, Northrop entered into a partnership with EpiSci to develop advanced, trusted, autonomous tactical solutions for the United States and its allies.
NOC boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 10.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 sales implies an improvement of 4.6% from a year ago.
Kratos offers a diverse portfolio of tactical UAVs like XQ-58A Valkyrie, UTAP-22 Mako, X-61A Gremlin and aerial target drones like BQM-167A, BQM-177A and MQM-178 Firejet. In 2023, the Unmanned Systems segment generated revenues of $212.2 million. On Mar 18, 2024, KTOS received a $57.7 million contract from the Navy for 70 BQM-177A aerial targets.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KTOS’ 2024 sales implies an improvement of 9.4% from the year-ago figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 earnings per share suggests an improvement of 2.4%.
Price Performance
In the past year, shares of AVAV have rallied 39.9% compared with the industry’s 26.7% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank
AeroVironment currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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