Facts

• Company: AeroVironment
• Product type: UAV
• Status: commercial
• Website: https://www.avinc.com/solution/red-dragon/

Profile sections

• Summary
• Overview
• Market context
• Audience
• Workflow
• Capability
• Deployment environment
• Positioning tags
• Specifications
• Timeline / Research
• Sources

Summary

Red Dragon is AeroVironment autonomous-capable unmanned aircraft for precision defense missions in contested environments. It is designed for GNSS-degraded and communications-limited conditions, using onboard autonomy to support target detection and mission execution.

Overview

Red Dragon is AeroVironment autonomous-capable unmanned aircraft for precision defense missions in contested environments. It is designed for GNSS-degraded and communications-limited conditions, using onboard autonomy to support target detection and mission execution.

Market context

Red Dragon is an AeroVironment software-defined autonomous UAS for contested-environment mission autonomy.

• Target environment: Defense field operations, contested environments, tactical ISR and autonomous mission test ranges.
• Workflow context: Autonomous flight, mission execution, contested-environment operation, software-defined aircraft workflows and payload integration.
• Customer context: Defense customers and operators needing rapidly adaptable autonomous aircraft for mission-specific deployment.
• Deployment model: Defense UAS platform model with software-defined autonomy and payload flexibility.
• Commercial maturity: Emerging AeroVironment defense product surface.
• Adoption constraints: Adoption depends on mission validation, payload fit, procurement, airspace approval and operational reliability.
• Market position: Autonomy-forward UAS platform that reflects AeroVironment's move toward software-defined aircraft.
• Adjacent products: Switchblade, P550, Puma, Anduril Roadrunner

Audience

Defense

Workflow

Autonomous flight, mission execution, contested-environment operation, software-defined aircraft workflows and payload integration.

Capability

UAV

Deployment environment

Defense field operations, contested environments, tactical ISR and autonomous mission test ranges.

Positioning tags

• Audience: Defense
• Workflow: Autonomous flight, mission execution, contested-environment operation, software-defined aircraft workflows and payload integration.
• Capability: UAV
• Deployment environment: Defense field operations, contested environments, tactical ISR and autonomous mission test ranges.

Specifications

• Form Type: Software-defined unmanned aircraft system
• Operational Role: GPS-denied autonomous mission execution
• Operating Environment: GPS-denied and communications-degraded environments
• Autonomy Model: Fully autonomous-capable operation with target detection and lock in disrupted low-bandwidth conditions
• Architecture: Software-defined architecture
• Production Model: manufacturing-at-scale design
• Operational Domain: Cross-domain use across air, land and maritime
• Payload Capacity Kg: 10 kg
• Range: 248 mi / 400 km operational range
• Wingspan: 11.8 ft / 3.6 m wingspan
• Overall Length: 6.6 ft / 2 m length
• Launch Context: Cross-domain air, land and sea launch and attack coordination

Timeline / Research

• 2025-05-06 - Product Launch - AeroVironment launches Red Dragon autonomous one-way attack UAS - AeroVironment launched Red Dragon as a software-defined one-way attack UAS for GPS-denied and high-threat environments.