AeroVironment acquires Tomahawk Robotics for $120M

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AeroVironment, Inc has announced plans to acquire Tomahawk Robotics, a developer of AI-enabled robotic control systems for the military, for $120 million. AeroVironment will acquire 100% of the company’s equity, and the purchase price will be paid in a mix of cash and stock. 

This acquisition will enable deeper integration of both companies’ technology, leading to greater interoperability and interconnectivity of unmanned systems through a singular platform with similar control features. Ultimately, the acquisition will allow soldiers to operate various connected robotic systems on the battlefield and share information between multiple domains with one common controller. 

“The acquisition of Tomahawk Robotics will not only provide AeroVironment with strong new members of our team, but a quality brand and products that are widely respected in the industry. Tomahawk Robotics will become part of the small UAS (SUAS) business unit within AeroVironment’s Unmanned Systems segment. We intend to retain all of their workforce and existing facilities in Florida,” AeroVironment’s CEO and Chairman Wahid Nawabi said. “We will support all existing Tomahawk Robotics customers and their products will remain platform agnostic to the market and within the industry. We also plan to introduce Tomahawk Robotics solutions to AeroVironment’s growing network of more than 55 allied nations.”

Tomahawk Robotics was founded in 2018 by Brad Truesdell, now the CEO, and Matt Summer, now the CTO. Its best known for its Kinesis Ecosystem, a tactical capability designed for soldiers. Kinesis is the company’s AI-enhanced and open architecture common control system. 

Kinesis can integrate the network of unmanned expeditionary vehicles, sensors, and third-party software onto a single pane of glass. The Kinesis Ecosystem delivers targeted situational awareness and precision strike capabilities for human-machine teams across battlefields. 

“Our motto has always been ‘warfighter first.’ Everything we’ve designed or made has been optimized to better equip and prepare soldiers on the battlefield,” Tomahawk Robotics CEO Brad Truesdell said. “Joining AeroVironment means our solutions will have a broader reach and the opportunity to be optimized by not only AeroVironment’s family of systems, but the broader robotics community, better enabling warfighters across the globe.”