AeroVironment's (AV) Wasp small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has received a Best of What's New award from Popular Science in the aviation and space category. Wasp was chosen as a breakthrough technology that represents a significant step forward in its category.

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Weighing less than a pound and with a wingspan of 1.3 feet, the Wasp is the smallest of AV's family of unmanned aircraft systems used by the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Army, Marines, Navy and Special Operations, and increasingly allied military forces. It can be launched by one person, provides maximum portability, rapid assembly and launch, and can fly for at least 30 minutes using a rechargeable battery.

The Wasp UAS provides valuable real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) directly to a small tactical unit, or individual warfighter, to increase flexibility in mission planning and execution. AV developed Wasp for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The Wasp UAS wirelessly transmits critical live video and other information generated by its electro-optical sensor payload, enabling the operator to view and capture images on a handheld ground control unit, facilitating faster, safer movement through urban and mountainous environments so that troops can act on intelligence rather than to an attack.

For more information, visit www.avinc.com.