AeroVironment, Inc. delivered company-owned, company-operated (COCO) maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services in support of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet as part of Operation Southern Spear. AV’s JUMP 20 medium uncrewed aircraft system (MUAS) was deployed across the Caribbean and southern Atlantic region, providing persistent ISR where it actively tracked potential illicit activities within the 4th Fleet’s jurisdiction.
JUMP 20 is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) MUAS designed for rapid deployment, with fully hands-free autonomous launch and recovery capabilities on moving vessels—even in challenging maritime conditions, including sea state level 5 and winds exceeding 20 knots.
“Advancing and refining the JUMP 20 maritime offering has been a major focus and investment for AV during the past 18 months,” said Shane Hastings, AV’s vice president and general manager of medium UAS. “This contract represented the culmination of that work and marked the first of what we hope are many operational maritime deployments of the JUMP 20. What sets the JUMP 20 apart from other Group 3 UAS in its class is its superior payload capacity, unmatched modularity and exceptional endurance – all delivered without the need for launch or recovery equipment enabling fully hands-free operations and maximizing operational safety.”
According to the Navy, “Operation Southern Spear was a successful operation designed to advance the Navy’s Hybrid Fleet Campaign, operationalizing Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) through manned-unmanned teaming. In addition to meeting operational objectives, this operation transitioned from short-duration experimentation into long-duration operations aiding in the development of critical techniques and procedures designed to advance the global integration of RAS into the maritime environment. AV’s JUMP 20 served as a key ISR asset, operating alongside joint and interagency assets in the area.”
JUMP 20 has proven its reliability with over 130,000 land-based flight hours supporting U.S. Special Operations Command combat deployments. JUMP 20’s expanded operations into these shipboard environments further extends its reach, enabling multi-mission multi-domain capabilities on a global scale, wherever and whenever needed.
AV’s JUMP 20 was ship-based and deployed for approximately six months during Operation Southern Spear under the Monitoring, Analysis, Reconnaissance, Logistics, Intelligence, and Network Services (MARLINS) Task Order as a subcontractor under the prime contractor, SMX.
