
BlueHalo
AeroVironment subsidiary; US Counter-UAS leader in directed energy and RF defeat.
Last refreshed: 5 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
How does BlueHalo counter cheap drones with directed energy?
Timeline for BlueHalo
Contributed $282.3 million of Q4 revenue and drove the Space-segment writedown.
Drones: Industry & Defence: AeroVironment books record and a caveatMentioned in: AeroVironment acquires ESAero for $200m
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
BlueHalo became a subsidiary of AeroVironment when the $4.1 billion acquisition closed on 1 May 2025, creating the largest US small-UAS and counter-drone group. The combined entity now holds major Counter-UAS programmes across radio frequency jamming, directed energy, and kinetic Intercept. The integration cut both ways in June 2026: on 29 June AeroVironment reported record full-year revenue of $1.98 billion (up 141%), with BlueHalo alone contributing $282.3 million of a record $641.6 million fourth quarter and anchoring the Space, Cyber and Directed Energy segment's $149.2 million. Eight days earlier, AeroVironment had disclosed an $87.3 million restatement of a prior-quarter net loss after its goodwill impairment analysis for the Space reporting unit omitted an allocation tied to the stop-work of the BADGER phased-array antenna contract under the government's SCAR programme, prompting a new material weakness finding in internal controls.
Before the merger BlueHalo had acquired Citadel Defense (AI-driven RF defeat) and Verus Technology Group (high-power microwave), assembling the widest Counter-UAS portfolio in the US defence sector. Its Titan portable jammer is fielded by the US Marine Corps, which awarded a $22.8 million contract modification in March 2026 for additional Titan units. The 26 kW LOCUST laser weapon system destroyed every target in a US Army demonstration on a Stryker platform, and on 1 July 2026 the Army awarded AeroVironment a further $500 million, three-year layered counter-drone contract spanning Titan 4, Titan MS, the LOCUST X3 laser (20-35+kW), the Freedom Eagle FE-1 interceptor missile and AV_Halo COMMAND integration software.
The Arlington Capital Partners-nominated directors seated under the BlueHalo deal, David Wodlinger and Henry Albers, resigned from AeroVironment's board on 17 June 2026 without citing any disagreement with management; a week later former US Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III joined as a Class I director, shrinking the board to nine seats. BlueHalo sits at the centre of the Pentagon's accelerating Counter-UAS investment cycle, where cheap attack drones have made layered defeat (RF, laser, kinetic) a doctrinal requirement rather than a niche capability, and where a single quarter can carry both a record top line and a restated loss from the same Space-segment lineage.
What is BlueHalo?
What does the Titan counter-drone system do?
Can lasers shoot down drones?
Why did AeroVironment buy BlueHalo?
How does BlueHalo compare to DroneShield?
How much of AeroVironment's revenue came from BlueHalo?
Why did AeroVironment restate its Space segment results?
Who joined AeroVironment's board after the BlueHalo directors resigned?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 5 July 2026. Editorial standards.