AeroVironment announced on 11 June that it has made a USD25.7 million cash purchase of small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer Pulse Aerospace.
Pulse's HeliSynth flight control system technology - developed for defence and commercial applications - will be added to AeroVironment's family of UAVs, as well as the former's family of VTOL aircraft.
Included in the cost of the acquisition are milestone-based earn-out payments of USD5 million, AeroVironment said, adding that it expects the deal to be accretive to earnings by year three.
Pulse's Lawrence, Kansas facility will transition to become the AeroVironment Innovation Center - Midwest, which will focus on small VTOL UAVs and mission planning systems.