AeroVironment JUMP 20 UAS Receives Italian Ministry of Defence MQ-31A Military Type Designation

AeroVironment JUMP 20 UAS Receives Italian Ministry of Defence MQ-31A Military Type Designation

Arlington, Virginia, July 2026 — AeroVironment, Inc. ("AV", NASDAQ: AVAV), a leading global defense technology company, today announced it has received the MQ-31A military type designation from Italy's Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness (DAAA), confirming the delivery of JUMP® 20 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to the Italian Army.

Significance of the MQ-31A Designation

The MQ-31A type designation formally establishes the JUMP 20 as part of the Italian Ministry of Defence's official military operational capabilities.

Shane Hastings, Vice President and General Manager of AV's Medium UAS business unit, commented: "This designation validates that JUMP 20 meets the standards of modern European militaries and demonstrates the system's ability to deliver actionable intelligence and persistent surveillance in highly competitive environments. It signals that Italy views JUMP 20 as an integrated element of its formal military inventory—not a limited trial or a one-off commercial procurement."

Contract Background and NATO Interoperability

The MQ-31A designation represents a significant milestone following AV's contract award in April 2025, which covers the delivery of JUMP 20 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft systems, along with sustainment, engineering, and support services. The contract also provides for the replacement of Italy's aging ISR fleet while enhancing NATO interoperability, expeditionary operational capability, and overall readiness.

The JUMP 20 was selected through a competitive procurement process involving multiple bidders, and acceptance of the platform continues to grow among European NATO member states.

Hastings added: "Across Europe, JUMP 20 continues to gain traction with allied forces—including Italy, Denmark, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic—further cementing its position as a trusted, rapidly fielded medium UAS platform."

JUMP 20 Technical Specifications

Designed around simplicity of operation and high adaptability, the JUMP 20 is a VTOL fixed-wing UAS with the following key performance characteristics:

• Endurance: More than 13 hours
• Operational range: 185 km (115 miles)
• Launch and recovery: Runway-independent; fully autonomous take-off and landing with no operator intervention required
• Mission payload capacity: 30 lbs of modular payload
• Integrated payload options: Over 70 integrated payload configurations
• Cumulative flight hours: Surpassing 500,000 flight hours in real-world operational environments

Its rugged and highly transportable design makes it well suited to high-mobility, dynamic combat operations. The JUMP 20 employs an industry-leading open systems architecture, enabling seamless integration of next-generation sensors, communications tools, and advanced autonomous technologies—helping Italian forces maintain an edge in drone battlefield innovation.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across the air, land, sea, space, and cyber-electromagnetic domains. The company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space platforms, directed energy systems, and networking and electronic warfare capabilities. Its core software platform, AV_Halo, is a modular, mission-ready, AI-driven toolkit that empowers warfighters with multi-domain operational dominance: detect, decide, strike. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

Media Contact: BJ Koubaroulis | pr@avinc.com | 703.718.4060
Investor Contact: Denise Pacioni | ir@avinc.com | 805.795.4108

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