President of Autonomous Systems, AEROVIRONMENT INC
AeroVironment's Stevenson on Long-Range Tracking Antenna, Snipe Micro UAS
Trace Stevenson, vice president and deputy general manager at AeroVironment, discusses the Long-Range Tracking Antenna ...
About Trace Stevenson
In a September 2018 interview at the DSEI trade show, Trace Stevenson, then vice president and deputy general manager of AeroVironment's unmanned systems division, discussed the company's recent product launches and strategic priorities. He stated that AeroVironment had unveiled a long-range tracking antenna for its Puma product line, which he said extends the aircraft's range from 20 to 60 kilometers in response to customer demand for longer endurance and range. Stevenson also highlighted the Snipe micro UAV, describing it as a small, soldier-portable system with a flight time of 15 minutes and a range of about one kilometer, which he noted was being sold internationally and to the U.S. military. Stevenson attributed AeroVironment's market position to its investment in research and development, which he said exceeds that of most aerospace companies, and to its focus on recruiting young talent. He mentioned that the company's commercial Quantix product line, which includes a decision support system for data analysis in agriculture and electrical infrastructure, would serve as a foundation for future military products aimed at providing soldiers with processed data rather than raw data. Stevenson also emphasized the importance of a common, encrypted digital data link across AeroVironment's product family as a differentiator in a competitive market.
Transcript (27 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Welcome to the Defense and Aerospace Report on Wagner Marathi. Here at the Excel Centre in London, we're covering the DSEI trade show, the world's leading air, land, sea, space, cyber, and security exposition. Our coverage here is in partnership with DSEI and Clarion Events. We have with us Trace Stevenson, who is the Vice President and Deputy General Manager of the Unmanned Systems part of AeroVironment. Sir, thanks very much for your time.
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Trace Stevenson0:24
Thank you.
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Interviewer0:25
How are you doing today?
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Trace Stevenson0:25
I'm doing great. I'm glad you were getting ready to go for lunch, so we interrupted you, but I wanted to make sure we touch base. You guys have really been an incredible innovator in this business. Almost anywhere you go, folks are like, 'Hey, what did the AeroVironment guys say?' or 'Stop by and check in with them.' You were founded in the early 1970s, and you're 202... How many million in sales now last year?
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Interviewer0:47
We did approximately 270 million dollars in sales, and tremendous growth over the last 15 years, especially in the smaller end of the market where you guys have really been innovating and pushing the envelope. Talk to us about what you have unveiled here at this show.
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Trace Stevenson1:02
At the show, we unveiled our long-range tracking antenna system for our Puma product line. What that does is it extends the range of Puma from 20 kilometers to 60 kilometers. The reason we've done that is we continue to listen to our customers' feedback, and one of the things they've asked for is longer range. So we spent the last 12 months developing our long-range tracking antenna system and released it here at the show.
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Interviewer1:30
As you guys look at the market, you talked about range. Range is something that everybody wants. Talk to us about how you are working with battery manufacturers and a whole bunch of other folks to be both on the infrastructure side and taking weight out of the system to deliver a variety of things. Everybody wants more payload capability, but people don't necessarily want a bigger vehicle. That's your eternal challenge. Talk to us a little bit about how you guys are innovating and partnering to get all of those wins.
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Trace Stevenson1:57
We do spend a lot of time looking at technologies that are out there. We have a group within AeroVironment called MacCready Works that really focuses on what the next technology is going to be. So we focus on how to get things lighter, how to get more endurance, how to get more range. We do work with different battery manufacturers to try and get more efficient batteries. We really try to stand in front of the market and figure out how we can incorporate those technologies into our products going forward to give the customers added capability.
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Interviewer2:33
Where do you guys see this market being in five years? There are such dramatic changes. There's a consumerization happening in the market where there are folks who feel like they can just get a quadcopter and replicate some of these capabilities, maybe not necessarily in a battlefield situation. But talk to us about how proliferation and commoditization are changing your plans and where this business is going to be five years from now.
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Trace Stevenson2:56
You're right, there has been a huge proliferation, especially in the small space where we're at. So we have to defend ourselves against that. One of the things we do is offer a family of systems. We find our customers have different requirements for different missions, so we incorporate a family of systems all connected by a common digital data link that is encrypted. They can fly any one of our systems and they are interoperable. They are also interoperable with US forces, so we find a lot of our customers are out there operating with US coalition forces and want to be able to interoperate with each other. We pay attention to what we call 'drone insanity,' but we try to figure out how to keep ourselves differentiated from those guys. One way is through our US customers; we have won every US program of record, so the rest of the world looks at that. Also, by incorporating new technologies and ensuring we differentiate ourselves, including through the interoperability and our digital data link.
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Interviewer3:59
Where are you putting your investment over the next five years to maintain the position you guys have in the market? This is fast moving, so be very specific because I'm sure all of your competitors want to know what Trace said.
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Trace Stevenson4:12
We know we listen to our customers. They give us important feedback. One of the things they want is longer endurance and longer range. That's why we released the new antenna at the show. They also want a smaller footprint. A lot of these systems, especially the larger you go, require many people to operate them. So we want to focus on developing our products and new technologies to operate with one person or two people minimum.
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Interviewer4:40
You guys also have another product that you've been showing here, even though you unveiled it a little bit earlier in the year, and I think you have it in your hand.
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Trace Stevenson4:47
Yes, this is our new Snipe micro UAV. It's intended for the soldier. It's very small. They can carry it with them. It pulls out of the case, the wings flap out, and it flies for about a kilometer and about 15 minutes. It's meant for the soldier on the frontline to basically throw this up and see what they want to see over the horizon. It has rechargeable, replaceable batteries, so you can land it, throw another battery in, and continue the mission. We're very excited about this product.
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Interviewer5:23
How is the trooper controlling it? What is the screen? What's the entire package? How big is the entire package?
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Trace Stevenson5:31
It's a tablet interface, very small. Eventually on our roadmap, it's meant to be just an app you can use. You can use whatever device you have. They can buy a tablet from us, or they can use their own device or their own phone to see the video. So we're really excited about bringing this capability to the soldiers.
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Interviewer5:51
Any customers for it yet?
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Trace Stevenson5:54
Yes, we are now selling it internationally. We're still taking orders internationally, and we're also selling it to the US military at this time.
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Interviewer6:01
I know everything is price dependent and volume dependent when it comes to this, but what's the ballpark price point you're looking for? This is very much an expendable class on the tactical level so folks can see over that ridge or around a building. What's the ballpark price you guys are shooting for?
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Trace Stevenson6:22
It's really hard to give an answer on that. Again, it depends on what accessories, how many airplanes they buy, what type of tablet they buy. It's dependent upon the customer and what the requirements are.
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Interviewer6:34
Any IR capability on this?
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Trace Stevenson6:36
At this point, both EO and IR cameras are in it for one airplane. Isn't it unbelievable that you fit that? Look at it. It weighs about six ounces.
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Interviewer6:51
It's very light. You know, we talked to John Dahn at Institue, and one of the things he was talking about was how good the company has gotten at data fusion. There's actually, especially for the trooper underground who's under pressure, you don't want to inundate them with too much information. You want them to be able to find the right information they need at the right time, and there is a lot of technology that goes into that. How is that piece of the business and the universe changing? He said that's kind of the future of the company: to get better at that side of the equation. Talk to us about what you're doing on that side, given you have a footprint both in the military and the commercial world.
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Trace Stevenson7:30
Our vehicles are like trucks. They go out there, fire payload, and provide information to the soldier. How we process that information is important. On our commercial side of the business, we recently released our Quantix product line, which comes with a system called Decision Support System, a data analysis tool meant for commercial agriculture and electrical infrastructure. We plan to take that foundation and incorporate it into our military products probably over the next few years so we can do more processing, exploitation, and dissemination for the soldiers, giving them results of the data rather than them having to mine through the data themselves. That is on our technology roadmap.
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Interviewer8:20
Last question is on innovation. You guys have a reputation for being innovators and very agile. How is it structural or cultural? What are some of the ways you're doing it? Everybody is trying to harness innovation and agility. How have you managed to grow but still maintain that foot speed that keeps you on that competitive edge?
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Trace Stevenson8:42
We focus on bringing in young talent, creative minds, and we spend a lot of investment dollars into research and development, more than the average aerospace company. We're viewed as a technology company rather than an OEM company. If you look at our financials, you'll see we invest a lot more money into research and development, and I think that's one of the reasons we're able to stay ahead.
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Interviewer9:08
Trace, thanks so much. We really appreciate it, and we'll let you get to lunch. Appreciate your time.