ESAero’s VESA counter-UAS drone interceptor. (Image: AeroVironment)
AeroVironment [AVAV] on March 16 said it has acquired Empirical Systems Aerospace, Inc. (ESAero) in a $200 million deal that adds manufacturing, design and prototyping capacity, complimentary expertise in electric and hybrid propulsion, more small unmanned aircraft system (UAS) products, counter-UAS drones, and capabilities for launched effects weapons.
Deal terms include $160 million in AV stock and the rest in cash. ESAero has about 300 employees and the company’s leadership will remain intact, and will operate as an AV subsidiary reporting to the company’s Precision Strike and Defense Systems Group within the Loitering Munition Systems unit.
ESAero is based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., where it has a 53,000 square foot manufacturing facility, a 32,000 square foot design and prototyping facility, and integration and test facilities. The company’s manufacturing expertise includes additive, composites, design to build, rapid prototyping, and low and high-rate production.
“ESAero bring an impressive agility in moving from design to manufacturing, which will accelerate AV’s ability to bridge the gap between conceptual design and manufacturing execution,” Wahid Nawabi, AV’s chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “ESAero’s capabilities are vital to addressing the urgent demands of a fast-growing defense tech market, where emerging needs are driving next-generation innovation and product development.”
AV said ESAero’s facilities are certified to the AS9100 quality management system for aviation, space and defense, and will be the company’s center of excellence for advanced prototyping and manufacturing.
ESAero’s electric drones includes the FAST-ISR quadcopter that can be equipped with alternative payloads, including munitions, the FAST quadcopter for medium-lift and swarming missions, and the VESA tail-sitting counter-UAS drone that is equipped with a warhead and can also be used as a loitering munition, and reach speeds up to 120 miles per hour speed. The company also helped Northrop Grumman [NOC] design the Lumberjack launched effects platform.
NASA’s manned X-57 all-electric plane, which did not fly, was designed by ESAero.
In the unmanned space, AV designs and manufactures small UAS, loitering munitions, and counter-UAS systems and drone interceptors. The company also has related command and control technology and artificial intelligence and machine learning software.
AV said the acquisition, which closed on March 16, is expected to be accretive to adjusted operating income within a year.
A version of this story originally appeared in affiliate publication Defense Daily.
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