Drone Aviation receives U.S. Army contract for newest Wasp Lite system.

Jacksonville-based Drone Aviation has been awarded a $1.1 million contract to supply a newly designed aerostat to the U.S. Army, Will Robinson reports in the Jacksonville Business Journal.

WASP Lite (Picture source: Drone Aviation Inc.)

The new aerostat, WASP Lite, is a smaller and more mobile design of the WASP, Drone's proprietary blimp-like device. The aerostat provides secure data transmission, network connectivity and an eye in the sky. The device is tethered to a power source, giving it hours of flight time, and is small enough to be towed around the battlefield. The device can fly up to 1,000 feet high and be operational while stationary or moving up to 40 mph.

The Army contract is the first contract for the new device, which was tested at Army bases. “We are honored to have received our first contract award for our WASP Lite system from this important customer and are privileged that both our WASP and WASP Lite systems have been selected by the U.S. Army,” Jay Nussbaum, Drone CEO, said in a statement. “As demonstrated by first-hand customer evaluations, WASP Lite will be a critical asset on the modern, networked battlefield."

The contract adds to a $3.8 million contract for WASP that Drone received in January from an unnamed U.S. contractor. Deliveries of aerostats under both contracts are expected to begin in the third quarter and continue through the end of 2019, Will Robinson concludes.