en.Wedoany.com Reported - AeroVironment (AV) announced that its facility in Huntsville, Alabama, has received an additional $20.2 million in government investment to increase the low-rate initial production quantity of the next-generation counter-unmanned aircraft system missile (NGCM, i.e., Free Eagle-1) and accelerate future full-rate production. The expanded facility will serve as the system-level integration, manufacturing, and production center for Free Eagle-1, enabling rapid scaling of interceptor output and shortened delivery cycles to meet the urgent operational needs of the U.S. Army and combatant commands.

The Huntsville facility expansion covers 24,000 square feet and will drive job growth. AV stated that this move reflects the company's ongoing commitment to meeting the growing national security demand for subsonic missiles, while strengthening cost-effective production capabilities, fostering innovation, and supporting on-time delivery.

Wahid Nawabi, AV's Chairman, President, and CEO, said that expanding the footprint in Huntsville allows the company to integrate more deeply into the Army's air defense and missile defense ecosystem, facilitating tighter integration, faster iteration, and more efficient mass production. He emphasized that this proximity is critical for the initial production of Free Eagle-1, which provides a scalable and cost-effective solution against increasingly complex and large-scale aerial threats.

This investment builds on AV's recent wins under the U.S. Army's NGCM and Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor programs, along with a $95.9 million contract executed by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation and Missile Center and the Aviation and Missile Technology Consortium, marking the next phase of Free Eagle-1's transition from development to scaled production and operational deployment. In March of this year, AV also secured a $97 million contract to design and integrate a prototype test environment for next-generation missile defense sensor testing at Redstone Arsenal. Redstone Arsenal is a federal center in Huntsville housing over 70 agencies, including NASA, the FBI, the Missile Defense Agency, the Army Program Executive Officer (Fire), and the future headquarters of the U.S. Space Command.

Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of AV's Precision Strike and Defense Systems Group, noted that this expansion is a key step in scaling Free Eagle-1 production and accelerating delivery to the battlefield. By enhancing manufacturing capabilities, strengthening integration, and achieving mass production, the company is delivering a cost-effective interceptor to address increasingly complex and large-scale aerial threats.

Free Eagle-1 is a low-cost, high-performance interceptor capable of neutralizing Class 2 and Class 3 unmanned aircraft systems, while retaining residual capability against Class 1 UAS, fixed-wing aircraft, and rotary-wing aircraft, offering higher lethality, extended range, and rapid launch capability. The system has achieved several key development milestones, including successful live-fire demonstrations of the dual-thrust solid rocket motor, controlled test vehicle launches, and warhead testing, demonstrating technical maturity and reducing risk as the program transitions to operational deployment.

Representative Robert Aderholt stated that as national defense and security needs grow, meeting capability requirements is critical, and Alabama continues to lead in defense manufacturing and innovation, with AV's expansion aligning with this trend.

The Huntsville expansion also reflects AV's broader strategy to expand domestic manufacturing capabilities. Previously, AV announced a $30 million investment to expand its Albuquerque, New Mexico campus, expected to generate over $670 million in economic impact over the next decade, create more than 450 high-paying jobs, and boost production of critical defense and space technologies.

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