Facts

• Segment: Aerial
• Country: United States
• Website: https://www.esaero.com/

Profile sections

• Summary
• Market context
• Facts
• Context / Market Position
• Events
• Team
• Supply chain relationships
• Context tags
• Sources

Summary

Empirical Systems Aerospace is an aerospace engineering company focused on aircraft design, manufacturing, integration and testing. Now part of AeroVironment, its products include unmanned aircraft and advanced air-mobility platforms such as the LUMBERJACK launched-effect system.

Market context

ESAero deepens AeroVironment's ability to execute aviation engineering and manufacturing beyond platform design.

Facts

• Website: https://www.esaero.com/
• HQ: San Luis Obispo, California, United States
• Segment: Aerial

Empirical Systems Aerospace role in unmanned aircraft systems

Engineering and manufacturing company for unmanned aircraft systems and advanced air mobility, including electric and hybrid propulsion, rapid aerospace prototyping, and AS9100-certified UAS manufacturing. ESAero deepens AeroVironment's ability to execute aviation engineering and manufacturing beyond platform design.

• Target environment: UAV programs, drone operations, aerial inspection, defence or civil unmanned-aircraft missions and supporting autonomy stacks.
• Deployment model: Aerial robotics model built around aircraft, payloads, propulsion, control, sensing, services or mission integration.
• Customer context: Drone manufacturers, defence users, inspection teams, civil agencies, integrators and customers needing aerial robotic capability.
• Workflow context: Flight operation, payload integration, mission control, sensing, inspection, data collection and aerial deployment support.
• Commercial maturity: Aerospace engineering and manufacturing company with UAS and advanced air mobility production capability. Robotics relevance comes from rapid prototyping, propulsion integration and certified unmann…
• Market position: Aerial robotics participant whose value comes from platform, payload, propulsion, service or mission capability.
• Adoption constraints: Adoption depends on mission performance, reliability, regulatory approvals, payload fit, integration effort and customer procurement cycles.
• Adjacent context: UAVs, drones, payloads, propulsion, aerial autonomy, mission software, ISR, inspection and unmanned aircraft operations.
• Source confidence: medium

Events

• 2026-03-16 - Acquisition - AeroVironment acquires Empirical Systems Aerospace - AeroVironment announced it acquired Empirical Systems Aerospace, also known as ESAero.
• 2026-03-16 - Acquisition - AV acquires Empirical Systems Aerospace to expand unmanned aviation engineering and manufacturing capability - AV acquired Empirical Systems Aerospace, a producer of unmanned aircraft systems…

Team

• Andrew R. Gibson - President & CEO; Board Member; Co-founder - This role identifies Andrew R. Gibson as part of Empirical Systems Aerospace's leadership or founding team.
• Benjamin T. Schiltgen - CFO & CEO Commercial; Board Member; Co-founder - This role identifies Benjamin T. Schiltgen as part of Empirical Systems Aerospace's leadership or founding team.
• Trevor J. Foster - COO; Board Member; Co-founder - This role identifies Trevor J. Foster as part of Empirical Systems Aerospace's leadership or founding team.

Supply chain relationships

• AeroVironment - Acquired - AV acquired Empirical Systems Aerospace to expand unmanned aviation engineering and AS9100-certified UAS manufacturing (Mar 2026).
• AeroVironment - Acquired by - Empirical Systems Aerospace acquired by AV for UAS engineering and manufacturing depth.

Context tags

• Defence customers - Customer Environment
• Enterprise drone markets - Customer Environment
• UAS engineering and prototyping - Peer Group
• UAS rapid prototyping - Workflow
• UAS engineering services - Stack Layer