Autonomy · Unmanned Systems · Mission Solutions
AEVEX 
Autonomous precision strike, mission software and airborne intelligence for U.S. and allied customers
AVEX
NYSE
AEVEX has 56.47 million publicly traded Class A shares and 57.57 million non-economic Class B voting shares paired with limited liability company units. Full exchange would produce about 114.04 million Class A shares, so market-capitalization services can show different bases. The June follow-on did not add $148.8 million of operating cash: AEVEX used the issuer proceeds to buy paired units and Class B shares from existing holders, with about $2 million of offering expenses.
The $27.4 million cash figure is the 31-MAR-2026 balance and predates the April initial public offering, debt refinancing and June ownership-conversion transaction.
AEVEX has crossed from mission-support contractor into scaled autonomous-strike producer. The strategic test is no longer whether it can build and field useful systems. It is whether it can replace backlog, preserve quality and convert a wartime production surge into repeatable programs across multiple customers.
AEVEX designs, manufactures and supports autonomous aircraft, long-range precision-strike systems, mission software and special-mission aircraft. Its model combines airframes, navigation, sensors, communications, payloads, production and field support inside one company. That shortens the distance between a combat requirement and a delivered system.
Tactical Systems builds unmanned aircraft systems, maritime vehicles, precision-strike platforms and the CompassX autonomy family. This segment supplied 88% of first-quarter 2026 revenue, making autonomous production the economic center of the company.
Global Solutions modifies and operates aircraft, integrates intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads and turns collected data into mission support. It also serves public-safety customers through wildfire detection and airborne command-and-control work.
AEVEX sits in the procurement lane the Pentagon wants to expand: lower-cost autonomous systems that can be produced quickly, operated in Global Positioning System-denied environments and replaced without risking a crewed aircraft. The company also retains the flight operations and intelligence expertise needed to keep those systems useful after delivery.
CompassX is a modular family of artificial intelligence-enabled navigation and autonomy systems for crewed and uncrewed platforms. CompassCore provides the open mission-computing layer. CompassVision supports computer vision. CompassEngage supports targeting and engagement workflows. CompassPNT provides positioning, navigation and timing functions while CompassEarth adds terrain-referenced navigation. The design objective is continued operation when satellite navigation, communications or clean sensor data cannot be assumed.
AEVEX markets a family that includes Atlas, Disruptor, Raker, Vandal and other modular strike systems. Atlas was selected by the U.S. Army in October 2025 for initial Launched Effects-Short Range fielding, but the company did not disclose an award value or quantity. AEVEX also produces additive-manufactured Group 3 aircraft for one-way attack missions and an unnamed long-range strike platform supported by the June 2026 Air Force award.
Mariana is a long-endurance unmanned aircraft built for persistent missions. Mako and Mako Lite extend the portfolio into unmanned surface vessels. These systems share the company’s emphasis on modular payloads, expeditionary use and autonomy in degraded environments.
Global Solutions covers aircraft modification, integration, test, flight operations, intelligence analysis, electronic warfare support, counter-unmanned-aircraft testing and rapid fabrication. The California Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System program and Oregon wildfire aircraft delivery show how the same airborne-sensing skill set can generate non-defense revenue.
The 2025 acquisition of selected RapidFlight assets and intellectual property added additive-manufacturing methods, aircraft designs and production tooling. A separate non-exclusive memorandum with Six Robotics creates a path to integrate that company’s Valkyrie autonomy software with AEVEX platforms for allied customers. A memorandum is a collaboration framework, not a production contract or backlog.
Several current production orders identify the mission class but not the exact platform. Defense Briefing does not map undisclosed orders to a named weapon unless AEVEX or the customer does so publicly.
AEVEX’s operating roots reach to a veteran-founded mission-support business that won its first contract in 2007. The AEVEX platform was assembled in 2017 through the combination of Merlin Global Services, CSG Solutions and Special Operations Solutions. It entered the market as an airborne intelligence and special-mission contractor, then used internal development and acquisitions to move into autonomous aircraft and precision strike.
The Phoenix Ghost and U.S. European Command Deep Strike efforts accelerated that transition. AEVEX states that the two programs together represent more than 9,300 systems delivered and committed through the end of 2026 and more than $1.2 billion of total contract value. That total contract value is not the same as remaining funded backlog or recognized revenue.
| Date | Transaction or Milestone | Value | Capability and Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Matrix acquisition | Undisclosed | Expanded processing, exploitation and dissemination work for intelligence customers. Closed and integrated. |
| 2022 | Spark and Tribe Aerospace acquisitions | Undisclosed | Added unmanned-aircraft intellectual property, engineering and production capabilities. Tribe earnout fully settled by 31-DEC-2025. |
| 12-SEP-2024 | Veth Research Associates acquisition | $10.06M | Added autonomous navigation for contested and Global Positioning System-denied environments. Consideration included $6.51M cash and equity valued at $3.55M. |
| 25-AUG-2025 | Selected RapidFlight assets and intellectual property | $1.70M | Added additive-manufacturing processes, designs and production assets. This was an asset acquisition, not a purchase of the full company. |
| OCT-2025 | Leadership transition | N/A | Roger Wells became chief executive while founder Brian Raduenz moved to executive chairman. |
| 20-APR-2026 | Initial public offering and refinancing | $20 per share | AEVEX sold 18.4M Class A shares and used offering proceeds plus a new term loan to refinance debt and support general corporate purposes. |
| 05-JUN-2026 | Follow-on offering closes | $27 per share | The issuer sold 5.73M shares and selling holders sold 2.27M. Issuer proceeds bought paired units and Class B shares from existing holders rather than funding operations. |
AEVEX generated $432.9 million of revenue in 2025, up from $392.2 million in 2024. Tactical Systems supplied 74.4% of 2025 revenue and Global Solutions supplied 25.6%. The mix shifted further in the first quarter of 2026, when revenue rose to $216.7 million from $53.3 million and Tactical Systems supplied $190.8 million, or 88% of the total.
The step-up came primarily from $161.0 million of higher Tactical Systems revenue, led by unmanned-aircraft deliveries. Net income reached $21.0 million and gross margin was 26.1%. Management’s full-year outlook calls for $600 million to $620 million of revenue and $88 million to $94.5 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The guidance excludes future acquisitions.
| Metric | Q1 2026 | Q1 2025 | Change | What Drove It |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $216.7M | $53.3M | +306.9% | Higher unmanned-aircraft production and delivery volume. |
| Gross profit | $56.5M | $1.2M | +$55.3M | Volume, mix and recovery from the prior-year loss-making quarter. |
| Net income | $21.0M | $(27.3)M | Loss to profit | Production scale, gross-profit improvement and lower relative operating burden. |
| Funded backlog | $356.6M | $503.1M at year-end | $(146.5)M | Backlog converted into revenue, especially under the European Command Deep Strike effort. |
AEVEX expected about 93% of the 31-MAR-2026 funded backlog to convert during the remainder of 2026. The company excludes unfunded options and at-risk work from this measure. That makes the backlog more conservative than a total contract-value figure, but it can still be reduced by termination, amendment or cancellation.
Production orders: repeat Air Force and broader U.S. Government demand for long-range precision strike. Autonomy content: CompassX modules can increase software and integration content per platform. Manufacturing scale: additive manufacturing and a distributed U.S. footprint support higher output. Global Solutions stability: follow-on mission services and wildfire programs provide a smaller but more recurring counterweight to strike-production swings.
The $88.1 million of orders announced on 28-JUL-2026 should not be added mechanically to the 31-MAR-2026 funded backlog. AEVEX did not disclose the funded portion, individual awards, performance periods or whether any value was already included in prior backlog. The next filing should establish the accounting treatment.
| Filed | Form | Why It Matters | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05-JUN-2026 | 424B4 | Final follow-on prospectus. Details the $27 offering, use of issuer proceeds, post-offering share counts, voting control and Up-C structure. | View filing |
| 05-JUN-2026 | 8-K | Reports the follow-on closing. The pricing event occurred 03-JUN-2026. | View filing |
| 01-JUN-2026 | S-1 | Follow-on registration statement with updated company, risk, ownership and use-of-proceeds disclosure. | View filing |
| 20-MAY-2026 | 10-Q | Latest filed quarter. Provides Q1 financials, funded backlog, customer concentration, liquidity and material weaknesses in internal controls. | View filing |
| 20-MAY-2026 | 8-K | Furnishes Q1 results and full-year management guidance. | Results page |
| 20-APR-2026 | 8-K | Reports initial public offering closing, organizational transactions and new credit facilities. | View filing |
| 2026 IPO cycle | S-1 | Core registration statement covering history, acquisitions, programs, facilities, risks and pre-IPO financials. | View filing |
AEVEX plans to release second-quarter 2026 results after the market closes on 12-AUG-2026. The most useful disclosures will be funded backlog, cash after the IPO and refinancing, gross margin, working capital, internal-control remediation and whether the July orders entered funded backlog.
| Date | Customer | Program or Scope | Announced Value | Funding / Vehicle | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28-JUL-2026 | U.S. Government customers | Multiple long-range precision-strike production orders | $88.1M total | Not publicly disclosed | Production orders | Official release |
| 06-JUL-2026 | Undisclosed U.S. national-security customer | Global Solutions follow-on mission services | $17.5M | Vehicle, funding split and period not disclosed | Follow-on | Official release |
| 30-JUN-2026 | U.S. Air Force | Long-range precision-strike platform production | $50.0M | $27.0M initially funded; vehicle not disclosed | Production | Official release |
| 23-JUN-2026 | California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services | Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System option year | $15.2M | Option-year value announced; vehicle not disclosed | Exercised option | Official release |
| 11-JUN-2026 | Oregon Department of Forestry | DHC-6-300 Twin Otter wildfire-detection aircraft | $12.3M | Not separately disclosed | Aircraft delivered | Official release |
| 20-MAY-2026 | U.S. Air Force | Unmanned mission support and modular airborne-system integration | $15.6M total | Multiple contracts; individual values and vehicles undisclosed | Awarded | Official release |
| 13-MAY-2026 | U.S. Air Force | Additive-manufactured Group 3 one-way attack aircraft, engineering and field services | $18.5M | Funding split and vehicle undisclosed | Production | Official release |
| 30-OCT-2025 | U.S. Army | Atlas selected for initial Launched Effects-Short Range fielding | Undisclosed | Contract value, quantity and vehicle not disclosed | Selection | Official release |
The table reports the value AEVEX announced, not assumed revenue or backlog. A contract’s total announced value can exceed initial funding, and a selection can precede a funded production order. Undisclosed vehicles, options and periods remain labeled as undisclosed rather than estimated.
| Reported | Reporting Person | Transaction | Quantity | Price | Context | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08-JUN-2026 | Madison Dearborn controlled funds | Sale / issuer purchase | 2,273,843 Class A shares plus 4,757,448 paired units and Class B shares | $25.99 net | Secondary offering sale plus issuer purchase tied to the follow-on ownership conversion. | Form 4 |
| 08-JUN-2026 | Brian Raduenz | Sale to issuer | 104,722 paired units and Class B shares | $25.99 | Purchase by AEVEX in connection with the follow-on; the prospectus describes sales used to fund tax obligations. | Form 4 |
| 14-MAY-2026 | Todd Booth | Restricted stock units | 29,220 units | $0 grant | Equity compensation scheduled to vest in three annual installments, subject to continued service. | Form 4 |
These transactions were part of a pre-arranged follow-on and Up-C exchange process. They should not be read as ordinary open-market timing signals without the offering context. The economically important issue is the reduction in legacy ownership and the resulting increase in public Class A float.
AEVEX is in a proof-of-scale phase. The company has shown that it can turn operational experience into high-volume unmanned-system revenue. It has not yet shown that the current production rate, margin and backlog replacement can persist across a broader set of programs.
The July production orders enter funded backlog, Air Force work repeats, Atlas advances from selection into funded quantities and CompassX increases software content across more platforms. In that case, AEVEX converts its manufacturing footprint and field experience into a durable position between small defense startups and slow-moving prime contractors.
Revenue remains lumpy because one or two programs dominate delivery timing. AEVEX can still meet guidance, but quarterly backlog, working capital and gross margin move sharply with customer acceptance and production cadence. Global Solutions provides useful stability without offsetting a major Tactical Systems pause.
Funded backlog falls faster than new awards replace it, production scaling exposes quality or supplier constraints, a major customer changes requirements or internal-control remediation distracts finance leadership. Under that scenario, the public-company valuation adjusts before the underlying program base has time to recover.
Funded backlog and book-to-bill, cash after the IPO and refinancing, gross margin, working-capital use, the funded status of July awards, customer concentration and progress correcting material weaknesses in financial reporting controls.
National security: AEVEX adds independent U.S. production capacity for autonomous strike and mission systems in a market where demand is rising faster than traditional acquisition cycles can respond. Capital: the upside depends on repeatable production economics, not the headline sum of contract announcements.
The competitive set changes by procurement lane. No single rival matches AEVEX across precision strike, autonomy software, special-mission aviation and wildfire intelligence.
AEVEX’s strongest advantage is the feedback loop between field operations and manufacturing. Teams that understand collection, flight operations and mission support can feed real-world requirements into platform design, autonomy software, payload integration and sustainment. That is more defensible than a catalog of airframes alone.
The industrial base matters. AEVEX reports about 100,000 square feet of uncrewed-system manufacturing space, more than 150 engineering personnel and capacity above 1,000 systems per month. More than 87% of the workforce holds security clearances. The company also reports serving as prime contractor on work representing 88.1% of revenue, which gives it more direct customer access than a subcontract-only model.
The moat is still conditional. Capacity is not the same as sustained throughput. A modular software stack is not a durable standard until customers adopt it across programs. Larger rivals have broader balance sheets and private rivals can spend ahead of contracts. AEVEX therefore has to prove three things at once: repeat orders, consistent quality and software reuse across more than one platform family.
AEVEX’s edge is integration speed and operational credibility, not monopoly technology. Its best path is to become the reliable middleweight that can move faster than a prime contractor while manufacturing at a scale most startups cannot reach.
Program concentration: first-quarter growth depended heavily on a small number of Tactical Systems programs, including the European Command Deep Strike effort. A delay, redesign or lower delivery rate can move quarterly results sharply.
Backlog replacement: funded backlog declined from $503.1 million at 31-DEC-2025 to $356.6 million at 31-MAR-2026 as deliveries accelerated. Conversion is positive only if new funded awards refill the pipeline at an adequate rate.
Material weaknesses in internal controls: management concluded disclosure controls were ineffective. Disclosed weaknesses include insufficient accounting and control personnel, segregation-of-duty problems, gaps in formal accounting controls and reconciliations and information-technology general-control deficiencies. AEVEX is remediating them, but the risk remains until tested and cleared.
Government and customer dependence: 73.9% of funded backlog was tied to the U.S. Government. Continuing resolutions, protests, security requirements, contract termination rights, export controls and customer acceptance can delay revenue.
Scale execution: additive manufacturing and rapid output can shorten production cycles, but they also increase supplier, quality, configuration-control, labor and working-capital risk.
Up-C governance: Class B holders retain voting power without direct economic rights in the public company. Exchanges can expand Class A float, and the Tax Receivable Agreement requires AEVEX to pay legacy owners 85% of certain realized tax savings. The company estimated potential payments of about $373.2 million over 15 years if all remaining units were exchanged immediately after the initial public offering, although actual timing and value will vary.
Secondary supply: the June offering showed that public float can increase through legacy-holder sales and unit exchanges even when the operating business is unchanged.
Disclosure limits: classified and customer-sensitive work can prevent investors and competitors from seeing system identity, quantities, schedules, funded values or margins until they appear in aggregate results.
Acquisition integration: Matrix, Spark, Tribe, Veth Research Associates and RapidFlight assets contribute different technologies and teams. Failure to integrate software, production methods and talent would weaken the promised end-to-end model.
U.S. Government share of funded backlog: 73.9%. Tactical Systems share of Q1 2026 revenue: 88%. Funded backlog change from 31-DEC-2025 to 31-MAR-2026: $503.1 million to $356.6 million. Material weaknesses in financial reporting controls: unresolved as of the latest 10-Q.