Freedom Eagle (FE-1)

AeroVironment, Inc. announced on October 22, 2025, that it has been selected to deliver the U.S. Army’s Next-Generation C-UAS Missile (NGCM). According to a company press release, AeroVironment (AV) was also awarded a $95.9 million contract for the U.S. Army's Long-Range Kinetic Interceptor (LRKI) program. This contract was awarded through the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (CCDC AvMC) Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC). As part of the LRKI program, AV will manufacture and deliver its Freedom Eagle (FE-1) kinetic C-UAS missile. AeroVironment is known as a provider of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) and advanced air and missile defense technologies. In a statement, Jimmy Jenkins, Executive Vice President of AV’s Precision Strike and Defense Systems Group, said, "FE-1 strengthens our nation’s air defense arsenal by providing an urgently needed kinetic C-UAS solution–built to fill the gaps in today’s defense capabilities and meet the adversarial threats of tomorrow.” Jenkins continued, “This selection by the U.S. Army is a testament to AV’s intentional investments, unmatched agility and technical expertise, and unwavering commitment to our nation’s national security priorities. We are quickly scaling production to deliver FE-1 to the frontlines, where they’ll provide critical warfighter protection and inform our development for full-rate manufacturing.” AeroVironment describes the FE-1 as a low-cost, high-performance solution designed to neutralize Groups 2 and 3 UAS. The company also noted it maintains residual capability against Group 1 UAS, fixed-wing, and rotary-wing aircraft, providing increased lethality, extended range, and rapid launch capabilities. The missile has already achieved several key development milestones. These include a successful live-fire demonstration of its dual-thrust solid rocket motor, controlled test vehicle (CTV) launches, and warhead tests. As noted by the company, these achievements demonstrate FE-1's technological maturity and reduced technical risk in preparation for field deployment. "FE-1 is more than just a missile. It's a transformative capability for next-generation air and missile defense,” said Daniel Noland, Senior Director of Strategic Capture for AV. “Our team–side by side with our industry partners and U.S. Army customers–has put in long hours in the lab and on the range because they believed in the mission: to rapidly develop the technology our warfighters need to tackle our nation’s toughest aerial threats. We’re ready to transition this disruptive technology from research and development to the battlefield and focused on ramping up manufacturing to deliver with scale and speed.” To deliver the new kinetic platform on a rapid timeline, AeroVironment said it developed critical strategic partnerships and assembled a team of industry experts, including Applied Systems Engineering Inc. (ASEI). The company stated that the FE-1 joins AV’s portfolio of C-UAS solutions, which include Directed Energy (DE), Radio Frequency (RF)-based, and Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. The press release also noted the company is a provider of precision strike and loitering munitions, including Switchblade and JUMP 20. According to AeroVironment, these capabilities form an end-to-end, multi-domain defense architecture designed to address advanced UAS threats.

Freedom Eagle (FE-1)

TRENDING NOW

Europe missile maker develops new deep strike weapon

Boeing KC-46 boom falls into Atlantic in second snap-off in a year

Mystery shrouded fighter jet spotted at Japan’s top test base

UK startup tests new long-range strike missile

Pentagon wants computers that work with almost no power or memory

About The Defence Blog

Freedom Eagle (FE-1)

U.S. Army taps AV for new drone interceptor missile

TRENDING NOW

Europe missile maker develops new deep strike weapon

Boeing KC-46 boom falls into Atlantic in second snap-off in a year

Mystery shrouded fighter jet spotted at Japan’s top test base

UK startup tests new long-range strike missile

Pentagon wants computers that work with almost no power or memory

About The Defence Blog