AV Announces Halo_Shield™, Comprehensive Tile-Based C-UAS Solution

Key Terms

counter-unmanned aircraft system technical

A counter-unmanned aircraft system is a set of tools and technologies used to detect, track and stop small drones that could threaten safety, privacy or operations. For investors it matters because rising drone use and tighter safety rules create steady demand for makers of sensors, jammers, software and mitigation services—like hiring guards and locks for a property—offering potential revenue growth alongside regulatory and technology risks.

c-uas technical

c‑UAS (counter‑unmanned aircraft system) are integrated tools and procedures used to detect, track, and stop unauthorized drones—like a security system that sees and disables an intruder in the sky. Investors watch c‑UAS because rising drone use and tighter rules create demand for hardware, software, and services, which can drive sales growth and affect regulatory risk for companies in defense, airports, utilities, and event security.

uas technical

UAS stands for Unmanned Aircraft System, the complete setup that lets a remotely piloted aircraft (commonly called a drone) fly safely — including the aircraft itself, the ground controller, communications links and supporting equipment. Investors watch UAS because rules, technology and demand for tasks like surveying, delivery or aerial inspection directly affect companies’ sales and regulatory costs; think of it as a vehicle plus its keys, radio and support crew that together determine whether it can operate profitably.

subsonic cruise missiles technical

A subsonic cruise missile is a guided weapon that flies at speeds below the speed of sound for most of its flight, using an internal engine and navigation system to follow a planned route and strike a target. For investors, they matter because demand, production, and export controls for such weapons affect defense company revenues, government budgets and geopolitical risk — like how sales of a new car model can change an automaker’s outlook.

command-and-control technical

"Command-and-control" describes a system where authority is centralized, and decisions are made by a single leader or a small group that directs how activities are carried out. In financial or organizational contexts, it means strict oversight and top-down management, leaving little room for individual discretion. For investors, it highlights how power and decision-making influence the stability, efficiency, and flexibility of an organization or market.

loitering munitions technical

A loitering munition is a weapon that combines a small, guided aircraft and its explosive warhead into a single system that can fly over an area, wait while searching for a target, then dive in to destroy it — think of it as a drone with a built‑in bomb that can loiter like a hawk before striking. Investors care because demand, production, export rules, and ethical or regulatory restrictions can sharply affect defense company revenues, supply chains, and share prices.

rf technical

rf (commonly written r_f) denotes the risk-free rate — the theoretical return on an investment with no chance of loss, often used as a baseline for valuing other assets. Investors use it like a yardstick: returns above this number compensate for extra risk, so it helps price stocks, bonds and option valuations and guides decisions about whether higher-return opportunities justify their added risk. Think of it as the safe deposit box interest rate against which riskier bets are measured.

edge processing technical

Edge processing is the practice of running data analysis and decision-making on devices close to where data is created—such as sensors, phones, or factory machines—instead of sending everything to a distant central server. For investors, it matters because it can cut delays, lower ongoing cloud costs, improve privacy, and enable new real-time products and services, so companies that adopt it can gain efficiency and competitive advantage much like handling a problem on the spot instead of mailing it to headquarters.

Unique, Modular Layered Defense Architecture System Combines the Best of AV and its OEM Suppliers to Protect Critical Asset Locations

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in multi-domain defense solutions, today announced the release of Halo_Shield™, a modular, distributed, and cost-effective counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) designed to predict, detect, track, identify and defeat advanced airborne threats—including Group 1–5 UAS, coordinated drone swarms, and subsonic cruise missiles—protecting critical infrastructure and deployed forces worldwide.

Halo_Shield™ is a modular, tile-based defense that delivers scalable, layered protection to detect, track, and defeat evolving aerial threats across the modern battlespace. (Photo AV)

AV made the announcement at Modern Day Marine on April 28 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Developed as part of AV’s holistically integrated C-UAS strategy, Halo_Shield introduces a unique, tile-based layered defense architecture that is open, scalable, and adaptable to today’s evolving threats. The system is designed to support emerging homeland defense priorities by enabling resilient, area-wide protection of high-value U.S. and allied partner assets, including borders, military installations, and other critical infrastructure. AV is currently demonstrating capabilities and has deployed Halo_Shield tiles at select critical sites.

“The character of the air threat has fundamentally changed,” said Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer at AV. “Cheap, massed, and coordinated aerial systems are stressing traditional point defenses. Halo_Shield is our answer—a collaborative, modular approach that brings together the best of AV and a trusted supplier ecosystem to close those gaps.”

At the core of Halo_Shield is a mission-tailored, distributed and domain-specific tile architecture—comprising Sentinel, Terrestrial, Nautical, Aerial and Celestial tiles. Each tile delivers a specialized combination of sensors, effectors, and command-and-control capabilities, drawing on technology from AV and its trusted ecosystem of suppliers. The result is a cost-efficient defense architecture that is offense-ready, extends protection beyond point defense and sustains decisive situational advantage in contested battlespaces across air, land, sea and space.

Designed for plug-and-play integration, Halo_Shield is deployable as portable fly-away kits and integrates seamlessly with existing customer sensors, effectors, and command-and-control frameworks—delivering scalable, resilient, area-wide protection with minimal training and personnel demands. Powered by AV_Halo™, AV’s unified software platform, the system is purpose-built yet agnostic, designed to incorporate new capabilities while seamlessly integrating with customers’ existing command-and-control systems.

“Halo_Shield is engineered like an edge processing-capable set of tiles for modern air defense,” said Larry Lloyd, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at AV. “Each tile is a self-contained capability that can operate on its own or snap together to build exactly the defense architecture a mission demands. That modularity lets operators scale, adapt, and reconfigure in real time as threats evolve, without redesigning the system or retraining the force. It’s how you move from static point defense to a living, mission-tailored shield.”

The unique tile-based architecture integrates a tailored mix of sensors and effectors from AV and its trusted partners, unified by an overarching battle manager. It includes systems such as AV’s LOCUST® laser weapon system, Switchblade® loitering munitions, and Titan® 4 and Titan MS RF C-UAS systems, among others.

With AV_Halo™ COMMAND, each tile can operate independently or be rapidly combined to extend detection ranges, accelerate the kill chain, and expand coverage across large geographic areas for preferential engagement.

Halo_Shield is a game-changing architecture:

• Affordably extending defensive protection beyond traditional C-UAS point defense
• Optimizing sensors and effectors placement to maximize mission effectiveness
• Maximizing the system’s weapons carrying capacity to address all threat scenarios
• Disaggregating the C-UAS mitigation cycle at the tile level to simplify higher echelon command and control (C2) workload
• Integrating left of launch with offensive delivery to thwart threats prior to attack

More information about each tile, Sentinel, Terrestrial, Nautical, Aerial and Celestial, will be released in upcoming announcements.

About AV

AeroVironment (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The Company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter and tomorrow’s conflicts. At the core of these technologies lies AV_Halo™, a modular, mission-ready suite of AI-powered software tools that empowers warfighters and enables full-battlefield dominance: detect, decide, deliver. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities at speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain new ones; regulatory changes; competitor activities; market growth; product development challenges; and general economic conditions. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, please refer to AeroVironment’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260428613060/en/

Media Contact:
BJ Koubaroulis
pr@avinc.com
703.718.4060

Investor Contact:
Denise Pacioni
ir@avinc.com
805.795.4108

Source: AeroVironment, Inc.