Mission Specialist Wraith Signals AeroVironment’s Next Step in Compact Unmanned Underwater Systems Capability

Key Terms

unmanned underwater vehicle (uuv) technical

An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is a remote-controlled or autonomous robotic craft that travels beneath the surface without a person on board, like a robotic submarine used for inspection, data collection, mapping or transporting small payloads. Investors watch UUVs because they drive business opportunities and risks across defense, offshore energy, shipping and environmental monitoring—comparable to how aerial drones opened new markets and contracts that affect company revenues and valuations.

six-degree-of-freedom technical

Six-degree-of-freedom describes the full range of motion an object or device can make in three-dimensional space: moving forward/backward, left/right, up/down, plus rotating about each of those three axes (roll, pitch, yaw). For investors, this term signals how capable and versatile a product or system is—think of it like a dancer who can not only move around a stage but also spin and tilt precisely—so it affects performance claims, engineering complexity, safety profiles, development costs, and potential market value.

vectored thrusters technical

Vectored thrusters are engines or jets whose exhaust direction can be steered to change the craft’s movement without relying solely on fixed fins or rudders, like swiveling the nozzle of a garden hose to redirect the water stream. For investors, they matter because they can improve maneuverability, fuel efficiency, payload capacity and safety of aircraft, rockets or ships, potentially lowering operating costs, enabling new designs and creating competitive advantage in markets for advanced vehicles.

open-architecture technical

Open-architecture describes a system or platform built to work with products and services from many different providers rather than only one supplier. For investors, it matters because open designs tend to attract more partners and customers, encourage innovation and price competition, and make it easier for a company to add new features or switch vendors — all factors that can boost revenue potential and reduce reliance on a single source of growth or supply.

New expeditionary UUV delivers six-degree-of-freedom maneuverability, higher thrust, and modular mission flexibility in a compact platform

POTTSTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AeroVironment Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a leading provider of all domain autonomous systems, today announced the launch of the Mission Specialist Wraith, the newest addition to the Mission Specialist Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) series developed by its wholly owned subsidiary, VideoRay. Designed for demanding subsea operations, Wraith delivers a new level of agility, power, and control in a compact, expeditionary-ready platform.

Mission Specialist Wraith delivers six-degree-of-freedom agility, high thrust, and precision control in a compact, expeditionary-ready UUV built for demanding subsea missions.

Engineered for extreme agility and precision in challenging subsea environments, Wraith delivers true six-degree-of-freedom maneuverability through 10 vectored thrusters, allowing it to hold any attitude—vertical, inverted, or fully rolled—while maintaining stability, power, and control in strong currents and at depth. The platform supports a wide range of payloads, including advanced imaging, navigation, and manipulation tools, making it well suited for subsea inspection, defense, and scientific missions.

“Modern operations increasingly depend on access, awareness, and freedom of maneuver below the surface,” said Chris Gibson, Chief Executive Officer at VideoRay. “Wraith gives forces a compact, rapidly deployable system that delivers the precision and control once reserved for much larger vehicles, helping operators extend reach, reduce risk to personnel, and respond faster in complex maritime environments. It expands what compact UUVs can achieve while improving overall mission efficiency.”

Built on VideoRay’s proven open-architecture Mission Specialist design philosophy, Wraith enables rapid reconfiguration, seamless third-party integration, and simplified field serviceability. With up to 80 pounds of forward thrust and simultaneous lift, the platform enables rapid direct-to-target transit and precise station-keeping, even in high-current environments.

The newly released Mission Specialist Wraith Expeditionary configuration marks the first step in a planned spiral development for the product. Future iterations will expand depth capability, payload capacity, endurance, and system flexibility, ensuring the Wraith platform continues to evolve alongside customer requirements and emerging technologies.

Details regarding VideoRay’s Mission Specialist Wraith are available at: https://videoray.com/products/mission-specialist-wraith

About VideoRay (an AV Company)

VideoRay, a wholly owned subsidiary of AeroVironment, is a global leader in underwater robotic systems, delivering innovative UUV solutions for defense, commercial, scientific, and public safety applications. With a focus on modularity, reliability, and mission adaptability, VideoRay continues to redefine what compact UUV platforms can achieve.

For more information, visit www.videoray.com.

About AeroVironment, Inc.

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.

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AV Investor Contact:

Denise Pacioni

ir@avinc.com

805.795.4108

AV Media Contact:

BJ Koubaroulis

bj.koubaroulis@avinc.com

747.324.5358

Source: AeroVironment Inc.