AeroVironment's LOCUST laser weapon wins its first overseas commercial order, worth $52 million

A foreign buyer has placed an order for a laser weapon for the first time. This shows that this type of equipment is moving toward commercial sale, not just staying in development.

2026-10-22 · 1 min read

On a slide dated September 9, 2026, AeroVironment listed a batch of orders. One of them, the LOCUST laser weapon, won its first overseas commercial order. The order is worth $52 million. LOCUST is a laser weapon system. In short, it uses a beam of light to hit targets.

• $52 million: LOCUST's overseas commercial order
• $43 million: Integrating the PANTHER phased array antenna into the SkyRange platform, for hypersonic telemetry
• $1,257 million: Total of the seven orders on the slide
• Of that total, $500 million is the contract ceiling for Titan, but only $80 million was actually ordered
• Removing the part that was not ordered, the confirmed orders come to about $837 million (this is our own calculation)

A phased array antenna does not need to turn physically. It uses electronics to point the signal beam where it is needed. When the SkyRange platform carries one, it can do hypersonic telemetry. That means collecting data on targets flying at very high speed. The $43 million job is about building this antenna into the platform.

This order shows that LOCUST has started to win overseas commercial customers. It is a first step from a single project toward a larger market. For laser weapons, a buyer willing to pay says more than a demo does.

All of these orders belong to $AVAV. Do not look only at the total when you review orders. Within the $1,257 million, $500 million is only a ceiling, so the part that was actually ordered should be viewed separately. A ceiling is not the same as revenue. When you read financial reports, separate "ordered" from "might be ordered." This is a research lead, not a buy or sell recommendation.