AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has conducted a successful first flight of its new Aerosonde Mark 5 unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona.

This initial flight met, or exceeded, all test objectives and validated the aerodynamic capabilities of the new airframe. Future flight testing is planned to validate additional key performance parameters for this aircraft class, including new payload capabilities as they are integrated. This rigorous validation process was initiated in preparation for AAI's possible entry of the Aerosonde Mark 5 UAS in the upcoming U.S. Navy's Small Tactical UAS, or STUAS, program, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps' Tier II UAS program. While the Aerosonde Mark 5 aircraft has been under development for two years, this successful test flight validation program was started once the services confirmed their requirements for these programs. As such, AAI designed the aircraft's final configuration to comply with the objectives of these programs.