AeroVironment operates as a defense technology provider delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. On May 1, 2025, AeroVironment announced it had completed the acquisition of BlueHalo, LLC (“BlueHalo”), a defense technology firm specializing in advanced engineering products, in an all-stock transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $4.1 billion. Three years earlier, BlueHalo had been awarded a $1.4 billion contract to deliver BADGER phased array antenna systems (a type of advanced ground-terminal system used to track satellites), to support the United States Space Force’s Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (“SCAR”) program. The BADGER would be a bespoke product designed for the United States (“U.S.”) Space Force, according to its specifications. This contract value subsequently increased to $1.7 billion. The SCAR program represents the U.S. Space Force’s efforts to modernize antennas used by the Satellite Control Network (“SCN”), which is comprised of 19 fixed antennas across the world and executes tasks such as tracking satellites, transmitting signals, and conducting telemetry, or accessing data from satellites to assess their status and health.
In an April 2023 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office described the SCN as “aging and difficult to maintain.” The U.S. Space Force has described the purpose of the SCAR program as modernizing the aging SCN by introducing phased array antennas to the network that boast newer capabilities, such as the ability to communicate with more than one satellite simultaneously. During the Class Period, Defendants consistently assured investors that the SCAR program would drive revenue growth for AeroVironment moving forward. Among other items, Defendants stated that the SCAR program represented a “tremendous growth opportunity,” that AeroVironment’s work pursuant to the contract was “very much on track,” that the customer was “asking for more [BADGER systems],” and that the Company stood “ready to build more.”
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) AeroVironment understated the likelihood that it would imminently face competition from other vendors for the work it performed in connection with the SCAR program and the U.S. Space Force’s ongoing efforts to modernize the SCN; (ii) accordingly, Defendants overstated AeroVironment’s business and financial prospects; and (iii) as a result, Defendants’ public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. On January 20, 2026, AeroVironment announced that the U.S. government had issued a stop work order on the Company’s agreement to deliver BADGER systems to the SCAR program. In the same announcement, AeroVironment stated that the stop work order “allows for the parties to negotiate an amended agreement for the future of the SCAR program” and that “[t]he Company expects to continue to deliver capabilities and products for the SCAR program.”
On August 24, 2026, The Court appointed the City of Miami Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Retirement Trust and the City Pension Fund for Firefighters and Police Officers in the City of Miami Beach as Lead Plaintiff, and Saxena White as Co-Lead Counsel.
