A fundamental part of this process of innovation is a screening process that helps business managers identify commercial opportunities that support current or desired technological capabilities. Similarly, we manage new product and business concepts through a rigorous commercialization process that governs spending, resources, time and intellectual property considerations. An important element of our commercialization process is ensuring that our technology and business development activities are strongly linked to customer needs in attractive growth markets. Throughout the process we revalidate our customer requirement assumptions to ensure that the products and services we ultimately deliver are of high value.

        As a result of our commitment to research and development, we possess an extensive portfolio of intellectual property in the form of patents, trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks across a broad range of unmanned aircraft system and advanced energy technologies. As of April 30, 2010, we had 64 U.S. patents issued, 61 U.S. patent applications pending, and numerous foreign patents and applications. In many cases, when appropriate, we opt to protect our intellectual property through trade secrets as opposed to filing for patent protection in order to preserve confidentiality.

        The U.S. government has licenses to our patented technology that was specifically developed in performance of government contracts, and it may use or authorize others to use the inventions covered by such patents for government purposes.

        While we consider the development and protection of our intellectual property to be integral to the future success of our business, at this time we do not believe that a loss or limitation of rights to our intellectual property would have a material adverse effect on our business taken as a whole.

Research, Development and Commercialization Projects

        One important aspect of our technology research and development activity is the development and commercialization of innovative solutions that we believe can become new products and open opportunities for us to enter large new markets or accelerate the growth of our current products. We invest in an active pipeline of these commercialization projects that range in maturity from technology validation to early market adoption. We cannot predict when, if ever, these projects will be successfully commercialized, or the exact level of capital expenditures they could require, which could be substantial. In our fiscal year 2010, we transitioned our Digital Data Link, a communications capability for our small UAS, from development to production. Four development programs are described below.

        Global Observer.    Global Observer is a high-altitude, long-endurance UAS under development to address the critical need for affordable, 24-hour, 365-days-a-year persistent communications and ISR. The continuation of years of research with both our own and U.S. government development funding, the configuration now being developed under a three-year joint capabilities technology demonstration program, or JCTD, with several agencies of the U.S. government is being designed to operate at up to 65,000 feet for up to a week between landings. We expect the efficiency and endurance (three to four times the longest flight time of existing fixed-wing aerial options) of this UAS to provide for dramatically lower operating and total life cycle costs for missions where persistent communications or surveillance is critical. The Global Observer platform is intended to be the low-cost equivalent of a twelve-mile-high, redeployable satellite, providing a footprint of coverage of up to 600 miles in diameter and capable of providing a broad array of services, including high-speed broadband data, video and voice relay and ISR. We expect these capabilities to provide the foundation for multiple high-value applications including communications relay and ISR missions for defense and homeland security, storm tracking, telecommunications infrastructure, wildfire detection/tracking and disaster recovery services.

        Switchblade.    We are developing a packaged, tube-launched UAS that is designed to deliver different payloads in different sizes and configurations based on mission requirements. One example of this offering is a single-use, hand-held, small UAS with the ability to destroy a target with minimal

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collateral damage through the detonation of an onboard explosive upon impact. This system would be launched by a single individual and operated through the standard ground control unit used to control our other small unmanned air vehicles. This version of Switchblade is being designed to allow the operator to identify a threat using visual information transmitted from the aircraft to the ground control unit, lock-on to the target, and neutralize the target by triggering an autonomous terminal guidance phase which results in the aircraft's impact with the target and simultaneous detonation of the explosive payload. We believe that recent combat experience indicates that such a capability would be of great value and could significantly improve the ability to neutralize hostile elements, such as snipers, machine gunners and mortar launchers. Development of this system under customer funding has achieved desired milestones including demonstrating dynamic target tracking and real-time aircraft course correction and high precision, as well as launching from multiple platforms.

        Stealthy Perch and Persistent Stare UAS.    We are under contract to develop a small UAS capable of performing "hover/perch and stare" missions. The Stealthy, Persistent, Perch and Stare, or SP2S, UAS was originally based on our small Wasp UAS, a one-pound, 29-inch wingspan battery-powered air vehicle that is being procured and deployed by both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps. The goal of the SP2S program is to develop the technology to enable an entirely new generation of perch-and-stare micro air vehicles capable of flying to difficult-to-access locations, landing on and securing to a "perch" position, conducting sustained, perch-and-stare surveillance missions, and then re-launching from its perch and returning to its home base.

        Passenger and Fleet Plug-In Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Fast Charging Systems.    In response to automakers' plans to introduce BEVs and broader trends favoring clean transportation we are developing solutions to support the expected introduction of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles from nearly every major automaker and many startups worldwide. We believe that most plug-in electric and many plug-in hybrid vehicle users will charge their vehicles overnight at their homes. For those without a charging location at home or who make trips beyond the range of their battery pack, public charging infrastructure will be required. Our strategy is to offer a full solution of charging infrastructure, including overnight home chargers, public chargers, public fast chargers, installation support, systems data collection and communications via multiple wired and wireless data communications options. We intend to offer an integrated solution designed to enable the broad adoption and the practical use of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles. Our goal is to enable drivers to use these electric vehicles as practical alternatives to gas-powered automobiles: from home charging to "pay at the pump" fast charging in as little as ten minutes.

        In January 2010, a major auto manufacturer selected us to support the rollout of a new model plug-in electric vehicle across the U.S. We will provide, install and support a home charging system that will enable the full recharging of the vehicle's battery pack in several hours. We believe this represents a valuable position from which to expand our charging infrastructure footprint in the U.S. and globally. We are working in the U.S. and internationally with automakers, utilities, government agencies at all levels and with private industry to explore business models and to promote our solutions.

        Scheduled for commercial rollout in 2010, our plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle fast charge system is expected to be a powerful tool that can help enable the broader adoption of these vehicles in two main categories:

Passenger Electric Vehicles. A network of fast charge systems would ensure that plug-in electric vehicle drivers have access to a ten-minute battery charge when and where needed and that advanced hybrid electric vehicle drivers could be able to drive more miles in electric mode, thereby reducing emissions and consuming less gasoline or diesel, which is typically more expensive than electricity.

Fleet Electric Vehicles. Fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles could come in multiple vehicle types and duty cycles, from inner-city taxis and buses to medium

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range delivery vans and utility repair vehicles. A few fast charge systems installed in a maintenance yard or a family of systems in the city could help fleet operators maintain throughput while reducing emissions and fuel expenses.

        For the fiscal years ended April 30, 2010, 2009 and 2008, our internal research and development spending amounted to 10%, 9% and 8%, respectively, of our revenue, and customer-funded research and development spending amounted to an additional 32%, 27% and 13%, respectively, of our revenue.

Sales and Marketing

        Our marketing strategy is to increase awareness of our brand among key target market segments and to associate AeroVironment with innovation, flexibility, agility and the ability to deliver reliable new technology solutions that improve operational effectiveness and efficiency. Our reputation for innovation is a key component of our brand and has been acknowledged through a variety of awards and recognized in numerous articles in domestic and international publications. We have registered the trademarks for AeroVironment, PosiCharge, Global Observer, and Raven and have submitted several other applications for trademark registration, including those for the AV logo, EV Solutions^TM, GO^TM, and Switchblade^TM.

Small UAS

        We organize our U.S. small UAS business development team members by customer and product and have team members located where they are in close proximity to the customers they support. Supporting our business development team members are our program managers, who are organized by product and focus on designing optimal solutions and contract fulfillment, as well as internalizing feedback from customers and users. By maintaining assigned points of contact with our customers, we believe that we are able to enhance our relationships, service existing contracts effectively and gain vital feedback to improve our responsiveness and product offerings.

Industrial Electric Vehicle Charging Systems

        We primarily sell our PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging systems through a dedicated, direct sales force whose members are located in close proximity to the customers they support. The sales team targets large entities with the potential for domestic and international enterprise adoption of our solutions. In addition to our direct customer sales, we also employ a regional sales team that coordinates distribution of PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging systems through battery and lift truck dealers. These dealers' relationships with, and proximity to, our customers' facilities enable them to sell our solutions and provide post-sale service to our customers. We believe that these dealers are well suited to address the large number of smaller and geographically dispersed customers with industrial vehicle fleets. When evaluating a facility for its ability to benefit from PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging systems, we perform a detailed analysis of the customer's operations. This analysis allows us to quantify the benefit projected for a PosiCharge system implementation, helping customers to determine for themselves if the business case is sufficiently compelling.

Power Cycling and Test Systems

        We sell our power cycling and test systems through a dedicated, direct sales force and through a network of international distributors and representatives who have access to the research and development and manufacturing organizations that procure and use these types of systems. Given the distances involved, we enable and rely on our international distributors to provide service in support of our customers.

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Passenger and Fleet Plug-In Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Charging Systems

        As the market for plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles emerges, we are pursuing numerous potential sales channels for our products and services. We seek to partner with auto manufacturers, utilities, government agencies and private enterprises, both domestically and abroad, to position ourselves for the potential demand for charging solutions associated with plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles adoption. We are also developing the capability to sell directly to consumers. We are developing a nationwide network of licensed electrical contractors who we train and certify to install and service home charging systems. To enable this installation and service network we are developing an ecommerce platform that will integrate customers' orders, inventory management, dispatching and provisioning, billing and traceability. This platform, along with our nationwide network is designed to support our growth as we pursue numerous electric vehicle charging opportunities.

International Sales

        We are increasing our sales efforts abroad and have contracted with international sales representatives for our segments in a variety of foreign markets. Our international sales accounted for approximately 7% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010.

Manufacturing and Operations

        We pursue a common lean and efficient production system strategy across our product lines, focusing on rapid prototyping, supply chain management, final assembly, and integration quality and final acceptance testing. Using concurrent engineering techniques within an integrated product team structure, we rapidly prototype design concepts and products and optimize our designs for manufacturing requirements, mission capabilities and customer specifications. Within this framework, we develop our products with feedback and input from manufacturing, quality, supply chain management, key suppliers, logistics personnel and customers. We rapidly incorporate this input into the design to ensure maximum efficiency and quality in our products. As a result, we believe that we can significantly reduce the time required to move a product from its design phase to full-rate production deliveries with high reliability, quality and yields.

        We outsource certain production activities, such as the fabrication of structures and the manufacture of subassemblies and payloads, to qualified suppliers with whom we have long-term relationships. This outsourcing enables us to focus on final assembly system integration, and test processes for our products, ensuring high levels of quality and reliability. We believe that our efficient supply chain is a significant strength of our manufacturing strategy. We have forged strong relationships with our key suppliers that we believe will allow us to continue to grow our manufacturing capabilities and execute our growth plans. We continue to expand upon our suppliers' expertise to improve our existing products and develop new solutions. We rely on both single and multiple suppliers for certain components and subassemblies. See "Risk Factors—If critical components of our products that we currently purchase from a small number of suppliers or raw materials used to manufacture our products become scarce or unavailable, then we may incur delays in manufacturing and delivery of our products, which could damage our business" for more information. All of our production system operations incorporate internal and external quality programs and processes to increase acceptance rates, reduce lead times and lower cost.

UAS Manufacturing and Operations

        We have successfully developed the manufacturing infrastructure to produce small UAS products at high rates, support initial low rate production for new small UAS development programs and execute initial low-rate production of our stratospheric persistent UAS, Global Observer. Continued investment in infrastructure has established our manufacturing capability to meet demand with scalable capacity.

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By drawing upon experienced personnel across various manufacturing industries (aerospace, automotive, volume commodity) we have progressed in establishing our lean production system and leveraging our International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, certification, integrated supply chain strategy, document control systems, and process control methodologies for a high volume, efficient production system. Presently, our small UAS manufacturing is performed at our 85,000 square foot manufacturing facility established in 2005 in Simi Valley, California. This ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturing facility is designed to accommodate demand of up to 1,000 aircraft per month. ISO 9001:2000 refers to a set of voluntary standards for quality management systems. These standards are established by the ISO to govern quality management systems used worldwide. Companies that receive ISO certification have passed audits performed by a Registrar Accreditation Board-certified auditing company. These audits evaluate the effectiveness of companies' quality management systems and their compliance with ISO standards. Some companies and government agencies view ISO certification as a positive factor in supplier assessments. Also in Simi Valley, California, our 105,000 square foot facility for Global Observer is equipped with specialized testing and production capabilities to enable low rate production of this unique system.

Efficient Energy Systems Manufacturing and Operations

        We perform assembly and testing of our power cycling and test systems at a 20,000 square foot, ISO 9001:2000 certified facility located in Monrovia, California. We designed this facility for flexibility, using a work cell model for final assembly, and have included fixtures optimized for final testing. We utilize contract manufacturing for the production of the majority of our PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging systems. We are also implementing a contract manufacturing strategy for our emerging passenger and fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging systems opportunity.

Competition

        We believe that the principal competitive factors in the markets for our products and services include product performance, features, acquisition cost, lifetime operating cost, including maintenance and support, ease of use, integration with existing equipment, quality, reliability, customer support, brand and reputation.

        The market for small UAS is evolving rapidly and subject to changing technologies, shifting customer needs and expectations and the potential introduction of new products. We believe that a number of established domestic and international defense contractors have developed or are developing small UAS that will continue to compete directly with our products. Some of these contractors have significantly more financial and other resources than we possess. Our current principal small UAS competitors include Elbit Systems Ltd., L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation. We do not view large UAS such as Northrop Grumman Corporation's Global Hawk, General Atomics, Inc.'s Predator, The Boeing Company's ScanEagle and Textron's Shadow as direct competitors to our small UAS because they perform different missions, do not typically deliver their information directly to front-line ground forces and are not hand launched and controlled, although we cannot be certain that these platforms will not become direct competitors in the future.

        The market for high altitude long endurance UAS is in its early stages of development. As a result, this category is not well defined and is characterized by multiple potential solutions. Existing contractors that claim to provide long endurance UAS include Northrop Grumman with its Global Hawk. Several large aerospace and defense contractors are pursuing this market opportunity with proposed very long duration UAS, including The Boeing Company, Qinetiq, Aurora Flight Sciences and Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Companies pursuing airships as a solution for this market include Lockheed Martin. Companies pursuing satellites as a solution for this market include The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, EADS, Ball Aerospace and Orbital Sciences.

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        An established market for man-portable, high-precision loitering miniature airborne munitions systems does not currently exist. The successful introduction of our Switchblade system could establish this market, and if so, would likely attract potential competitors that could range from large aerospace and defense prime contractors to smaller, more innovative technology developers.

        The primary direct competitors to PosiCharge systems are other fast charge suppliers, including Aker Wade Power Technologies LLC, PowerDesigners, LLC and ECOtality. Some of the major industrial battery suppliers have aligned themselves with fast charge suppliers, creating a potentially more significant source of competition. In addition, our PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging systems compete against the traditional method of battery changing. Competitors in this area include suppliers of battery changing equipment and infrastructure, designers of battery changing rooms, battery manufacturers and dealers who may experience reduced sales volume because PosiCharge systems reduces or eliminate the need for extra batteries.

        Competitors in the emerging market for passenger and fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging systems include charging system suppliers such as Coulomb Technologies, ECOtality and ClipperCreek. Potential competitors include large industrial electrical device suppliers such as Eaton Corporation, General Electric Company and Siemens AG.

        Direct competitors for our power cycling and test systems include Bitrode Corporation and Digatron Firing Circuits.

Regulation

        Due to the fact that we contract with the DoD and other agencies of the U.S. government, we are subject to extensive federal regulations, including the Federal Acquisition Regulations, Defense Federal Acquisitions Regulations, Truth in Negotiations Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, False Claims Act and the regulations promulgated under the DoD Industrial Security Manual, which establishes the security guidelines for classified programs and facilities as well as individual security clearances. The federal government audits and reviews our performance on contracts, pricing practices, cost structure, and compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards. Like most government contractors, our contracts are audited and reviewed on a continual basis by federal agencies, including the Defense Contract Management Agency, or DCMA and the Defense Contract Audit Agency, or DCAA.

        Certain of these regulations carry substantial penalty provisions, including suspension or debarment from government contracting or subcontracting for a period of time if we are found to be in violation. We carefully monitor all of our contracts and contractual efforts to minimize the possibility of any violation of these regulations.

        In addition, we are subject to industry-specific regulations due to the nature of the products and services we provide.

        For example, we are subject to further U.S. government regulation, including by the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, which regulates airspace for all air vehicles, by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Federal Communications Commission, which regulate the wireless communications upon which our small UAS depend, and under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which regulate the export of controlled technical data, defense articles and defense services. In 2006, the FAA issued a clarification of its existing policies stating that, in order to engage in public use of small UAS in the U.S. National Airspace System, a public (government) operator must obtain a Certificate of Authorization, or COA, from the FAA or fly in restricted airspace. The FAA's COA approval process requires that the public operator certify the airworthiness of the aircraft for its intended purpose, that a collision with another aircraft or other airspace user is extremely improbable, that the small UAS complies with appropriate cloud and terrain clearances and that the operator or spotter of the small UAS is generally within one half-mile laterally and 400 feet

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vertically of the small UAS while in operation. Furthermore, the FAA's clarification of existing policy states that the rules for radio-controlled hobby aircraft do not apply to public or commercial use of small UAS. The FAA is in the process of drafting updated regulations specifically for small UAS operations. We have engaged in discussions with the FAA to help ensure that these new regulations allow for the maximum safe utilization of our small UAS.

        Furthermore, our non-U.S. operations are subject to the laws and regulations of foreign jurisdictions, which may include regulations that are more stringent than those imposed by the U.S. government on our U.S. operations.

Government Contracting Process

        We sell the significant majority of our small UAS products and services as the prime contractor under contracts with the U.S. government. Certain important aspects of our government contracts are described below.

Bidding Process

        We are awarded government contracts either on a sole-source basis or through a competitive bidding process. Most of our current government contracts were awarded through a competitive bidding process. The U.S. government awards competitive-bid contracts based on proposal evaluation criteria established by the procuring agency. Competitive-bid contracts are awarded after a formal bid and proposal competition among providers. Interested contractors prepare a bid and proposal in response to the agency's request for proposal or request for information. A bid and proposal is usually prepared in a short time period in response to a deadline and requires the extensive involvement of numerous technical and administrative personnel. Following award, competitive-bid contracts may be challenged by unsuccessful bidders.

Funding

        The funding of U.S. government programs is subject to congressional appropriations. Although multi-year contracts may be authorized in connection with major procurements, Congress generally appropriates funds on a fiscal year basis, even though a program may continue for many years. Consequently, programs are often only partially funded initially, and additional funds are committed only as Congress makes further appropriations.

        The contracts for our full-rate production UAS are funded either through operational needs statements or as programs of record. Operational needs statements represent allocations of discretionary spending or reallocations of funding from other government programs. Funding for our production of initial Raven deliveries was provided through operational needs statements. We define a program of record as a program which, after undergoing extensive DoD review and product testing, is included in the five-year government budget cycle, meaning that funding will be allocated for purchases under these contracts during the five-year cycle, absent affirmative action by the customer or Congress to change the budgeted amount. Funding for these programs is subject to annual approval. We are currently the sole provider and prime contractor under all of the programs of record established by the DoD for small UAS.

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Material Government Contract Provisions

        All contracts with the U.S. government contain provisions, and are subject to laws and regulations, that give the government rights and remedies not typically found in commercial contracts, including rights that allow the government to:

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terminate existing contracts for convenience, which affords the U.S. government the right to terminate the contract in whole or in part anytime it wants for any reason or no reason, as well as for default;



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reduce or modify contracts or subcontracts, if its requirements or budgetary constraints change;



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cancel multi-year contracts and related orders, if funds for contract performance for any subsequent year become unavailable;



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claim rights in products and systems produced by its contractors if the contract is cost reimbursable and the contractor produces the products or systems during the performance of the contract;



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adjust contract costs and fees on the basis of audits completed by its agencies;



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suspend or debar a contractor from doing business with the U.S. government; and



•

control or prohibit the export of products.

        Generally, government contracts are subject to oversight audits by government representatives. Provisions in these contracts permit termination, in whole or in part, without prior notice, at the government's convenience or upon contractor default under the contract. Compensation in the event of a termination, if any, is limited to work completed at the time of termination. In the event of termination for convenience, the contractor may receive a certain allowance for profit on the work performed.

Government Contract Categories

        We have three types of government contracts, each of which involves a different payment methodology and level of risk related to the cost of performance. These basic types of contracts are typically referred to as fixed-price contracts, cost reimbursable contracts (including cost-plus-fixed fee, cost-plus-award fee, and cost-plus-incentive fee) and time-and-materials contracts.

        In some cases, depending on the urgency of the project and the complexity of the contract negotiation, we will enter into a Letter Contract prior to finalizing the terms of a definitive fixed-price, cost reimbursable or time-and-materials definitive contract. A Letter Contract is a written preliminary contractual instrument that provides limited initial funding and authorizes us to begin immediately manufacturing supplies or performing services while negotiating the definitive terms of the procurement.

        Fixed-Price.    These contracts are not subject to adjustment by reason of costs incurred in the performance of the contract. With this type of contract, we assume the risk that we will not be able to perform at a cost below the fixed- price, except for costs incurred because of contract changes ordered by the customer. Upon the U.S. government's termination of a fixed-price contract, generally we would be entitled to payment for items delivered to and accepted by the U.S. government and, if the termination is at the U.S. government's convenience, for payment of fair compensation for work performed plus the costs of settling and paying claims by any terminated subcontractors, other settlement expenses and a reasonable allowance for profit on the costs incurred.

        Cost Reimbursable.    Cost reimbursable contracts include cost-plus-fixed fee contracts, cost-plus-award fee contracts and cost-plus-incentive fee contracts. Under each type of contract, we

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assume the risk that we may not be able to recover costs if they are not allowable under the contract terms or applicable regulations, or if the costs exceed the contract funding.

•

Cost-plus-fixed fee contracts are cost reimbursable contracts that provide for payment of a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract. This fixed fee does not vary with actual cost of the contract, but may be adjusted as a result of changes in the work to be performed under the contract. This contract type poses less risk of loss than a fixed-price contract, but our ability to win future contracts from the procuring agency may be adversely affected if we fail to perform within the maximum cost set forth in the contract.



•

A cost-plus-award fee contract is a cost reimbursable contract that provides for a fee consisting of a base amount (which may be zero) fixed at inception of the contract and an award amount, based upon the government's satisfaction with the performance under the contract. With this type of contract, we assume the risk that we may not receive the award fee, or only a portion of it, if we do not perform satisfactorily.



•

A cost-plus-incentive fee contract is a cost reimbursable contract that provides for an initially negotiated fee to be adjusted later by a formula based on the relationship of total allowable costs to total target costs.

        We typically experience lower profit margins and lower risk under cost reimbursable contracts than under fixed-price contracts. Upon the termination of a cost reimbursable contract, generally we would be entitled to reimbursement of our allowable costs and, if the termination is at the U.S. government's convenience, a total fee proportionate to the percentage of work completed under the contract.

        Time-and-Materials.    Under a time-and-materials contract, our compensation is based on a fixed hourly rate established for specified labor or skill categories. We are paid at the established hourly rates for the hours we expend performing the work specified in the contract. Labor costs, overhead, general and administrative costs and profit are included in the fixed hourly rate. Materials, subcontractors, travel and other direct costs are reimbursed at actual costs plus an amount for material handling. We make critical pricing assumptions and decisions when developing and proposing time-and-materials labor rates. We risk reduced profitability if our actual costs exceed the costs incorporated into the fixed hourly labor rate. One variation of a standard time-and-materials contract is a time-and-materials, award fee contract. Under this type of contract, a positive or negative incentive can be earned based on achievement against specific performance metrics.

Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Contract Form

        The U.S. government frequently uses indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts, known as IDIQ contracts, and IDIQ-type contract forms such as cost reimbursable and fixed price contracts with multiple one-year options, to obtain fixed-price, cost reimbursable and time-and-materials contractual commitments to provide products or services over a period of time pursuant to established general terms and conditions. At the time of the award of an IDIQ contract or IDIQ-type contract, the U.S. Government generally commits to purchase only a minimal amount of products or services from the contractor to whom such contract is awarded.

        After award of an IDIQ contract, the U.S. Government may issue task orders for specific services or products it needs. The competitive process to obtain task orders under an award contract is limited to the pre-selected contractors. If such contract has a single prime contractor, then the award of task orders is limited to that contractor. If the contract has multiple prime contractors, then the award of the task order is competitively determined among only those prime contractors.

        IDIQ and IDIQ-type contracts typically have multi-year terms and unfunded ceiling amounts which enable, but do not commit, the U.S. government to purchase substantial amounts of products and services from one or more contractors.

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Contract Mix

        The table below shows our revenue for the periods indicated by contract type, including both government and commercial sales:

Employees

        As of April 30, 2010, we had 732 full-time employees, of whom 299 were in research and development and engineering, 64 were in sales and marketing, 238 were in operations and 131 were general and administrative personnel. We believe that we have a good relationship with our employees.

Other Information

        AeroVironment, Inc. was originally incorporated in the State of California in July 1971 and reincorporated in Delaware in 2006. In January 2007, we completed an initial public offering which resulted in the issuance of 5,252,285 shares of our common stock at a price of $17.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to us of approximately $80.5 million, after deducting payment of underwriters' discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

        Our principal executive offices are located at 181 W. Huntington Dr., Suite 202, Monrovia, California 91016. Our telephone number is (626) 357-9983. Our website home page on the Internet is http://www.avinc.com. We make our website content available for information purposes only. It should not be relied upon for investment purposes, nor is it incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K.

        We make our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and proxy statement for our annual stockholders' meeting, as well as any amendments to those reports, available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file that material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. You can learn more about us by reviewing our SEC filings. Our SEC reports can be accessed through the investor relations page of our web site at http://investor.avinc.com. These reports may also be obtained at the SEC's public reference room at 100 F. Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. The SEC also maintains a web site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding the Company.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors.

We rely heavily on sales to the U.S. government, particularly to agencies of the Department of Defense.

        Historically, a significant portion of our total sales and substantially all of our small UAS sales have been to the U.S. government and its agencies. Sales to the U.S. government, either as a prime contractor or subcontractor, represented approximately 86% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010. The DoD, our principal U.S. government customer, accounted for approximately 80% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010. We believe that the success and growth of our business for the foreseeable future will continue to depend on our ability to win government contracts, in particular from the DoD. Many of our government customers are subject to budgetary constraints and our continued performance under these contracts, or award of additional contracts from these agencies, could be jeopardized by spending reductions or budget cutbacks at these agencies. The funding of U.S. government programs is uncertain and dependent on continued congressional appropriations and administrative allotment of funds based on an annual budgeting process. We cannot

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assure you that current levels of congressional funding for our products and services will continue. Furthermore, all of our contracts with the U.S. government are terminable by the U.S. government at will. A significant decline in government expenditures generally, or with respect to programs for which we provide products, could adversely affect our business and prospects. Our operating results may also be negatively impacted by other developments that affect these government programs generally, including the following:

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changes in government programs that are related to our products and services;



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adoption of new laws or regulations relating to government contracting or changes to existing laws or regulations;



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changes in political or public support for security and defense programs;



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delays or changes in the government appropriations process;



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uncertainties associated with the current global threat environment and other geo-political matters; and



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delays in the payment of our invoices by government payment offices.

        These developments and other factors could cause governmental agencies to reduce their purchases under existing contracts, to exercise their rights to terminate contracts at-will or to abstain from renewing contracts, any of which would cause our revenue to decline and could otherwise harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Military transformation and operational levels in Afghanistan and Iraq may affect future procurement priorities and existing programs, which could limit demand for our UAS.

        Following the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military began a transformation of its operational concepts, organizational structure and technologies in an effort to improve warfighting capabilities. The resulting shift in procurement priorities toward achieving these capabilities, together with the current high level of operational activity in Afghanistan and Iraq, have led to an increase in demand for our small UAS. We cannot predict whether current or future changes in priorities due to defense transformation or continuation of the current nature and magnitude of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq will afford new opportunities for our small UAS business in terms of existing, additional or replacement programs. Furthermore, we cannot predict whether or to what extent this defense transformation or current operational levels in Afghanistan or Iraq will continue. If defense transformation or operations in Afghanistan and Iraq cease or slow down, then our business, financial condition and results of operations could be impacted.

We operate in evolving markets, which makes it difficult to evaluate our business and future prospects.

        UAS, electric vehicle charging systems and other energy technologies that we offer are sold in new and rapidly evolving markets. Accordingly, our business and future prospects are difficult to evaluate. We cannot accurately predict the extent to which demand for our products will increase, if at all. The challenges, risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in rapidly evolving markets could impact our ability to do the following:

•

generate sufficient revenue to maintain profitability;



•

acquire and maintain market share;



•

manage growth in our operations;



•

develop and renew contracts;



•

attract and retain additional engineers and other highly-qualified personnel;

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•

successfully develop and commercially market new products;



•

adapt to new or changing policies and spending priorities of governments and government agencies; and



•

access additional capital when required and on reasonable terms.

        If we fail to address these and other challenges, risks and uncertainties successfully, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially harmed.

We face competition from other firms, many of which have substantially greater resources.

        The defense industry is highly competitive and generally characterized by intense competition to win contracts. Our current principal small UAS competitors include Elbit Systems Ltd., L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation. We do not view large UAS such as Northrop Grumman Corporation's Global Hawk, General Atomics, Inc.'s Predator, The Boeing Company's ScanEagle and Textron Inc.'s Shadow as direct competitors because they perform different missions, do not typically deliver their information directly to front-line ground forces, and are not hand launched and controlled, although we cannot be certain that these platforms will not become direct competitors in the future. Some of these firms have substantially greater financial, management, research and marketing resources than we have.

        The primary direct competitors to our PosiCharge business are other fast charge suppliers, including Aker Wade Power Technologies LLC, PowerDesigners, LLC and ECOtality, as well as industrial battery manufacturers who distribute fast charge systems from these suppliers. The primary direct competitors to our electric vehicle test system business are other test system suppliers, including Bitrode Corporation and Digatron Firing Circuits. Our primary competitors in the emerging market for passenger and fleet electric vehicle charging systems include charging system suppliers such as Coulomb Technologies, ECOtality and ClipperCreek.

        Our competitors may be able to provide customers with different or greater capabilities or benefits than we can provide in areas such as technical qualifications, past contract performance, geographic presence, price and the availability of key professional personnel, including those with security clearances. Furthermore, many of our competitors may be able to utilize their substantially greater resources and economies of scale to develop competing products and technologies, divert sales away from us by winning broader contracts or hire away our employees by offering more lucrative compensation packages. In the event that the market for small UAS or electric vehicle charging systems expands, we expect that competition will intensify as additional competitors enter the market and current competitors expand their product lines. In order to secure contracts successfully when competing with larger, well-financed companies, we may be forced to agree to contractual terms that provide for lower aggregate payments to us over the life of the contract, which could adversely affect our margins. In addition, larger diversified competitors serving as prime contractors may be able to supply underlying products and services from affiliated entities, which would prevent us from competing for subcontracting opportunities on these contracts. Our failure to compete effectively with respect to any of these or other factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results.

If the UAS and electric vehicle charging and testing systems markets do not experience significant growth, if we cannot expand our customer base or if our products do not achieve broad acceptance, then we will not be able to achieve our anticipated level of growth.

        For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010, UAS, and Efficient Energy Systems, accounted for 90% and 10% of our total revenue, respectively. We cannot accurately predict the future growth rates or sizes of these markets. Demand for our products may not increase, or may decrease, either generally or

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in specific markets, for particular types of products or during particular time periods. We believe the market for electric vehicle charging and test systems is young and has not yet matured or diversified. Moreover, there are only a limited number of major programs under which the U.S. military, our primary customer, is currently funding the development or purchase of UAS. Although we are seeking to expand our customer base to include foreign governments, domestic non-military agencies and commercial customers, we cannot assure you that our efforts will be successful. The expansion of the UAS and electric vehicle charging and test systems markets in general, and the market for our products in particular, depends on a number of factors, including the following:

•

customer satisfaction with these types of systems as solutions;



•

the cost, performance and reliability of our products and products offered by our competitors;



•

customer perceptions regarding the effectiveness and value of these types of systems;



•

the rate of adoption of plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles;



•

limitations on our ability to market our small UAS products outside the United States due to U.S. government regulations;



•

obtaining timely regulatory approvals, including, with respect to our small UAS business, access to airspace and wireless spectrum; and



•

marketing efforts and publicity regarding these types of systems.

        Even if UAS and electrical vehicle charging and test systems gain wide market acceptance, our products may not adequately address market requirements and may not continue to gain market acceptance. If these types of systems generally, or our products specifically, do not gain wide market acceptance, then we may not be able to achieve our anticipated level of growth and our revenue and results of operations would suffer.

If critical components of our products that we currently purchase from a small number of suppliers or raw materials used to manufacture our products become scarce or unavailable, then we may incur delays in manufacturing and delivery of our products, which could damage our business.

        We obtain hardware components and various subsystems from a limited group of suppliers. We do not have long-term agreements with any of these suppliers that obligate them to continue to sell components or products to us. Our reliance on these suppliers involves significant risks and uncertainties, including whether our suppliers will provide an adequate supply of required components of sufficient quality, will increase prices for the components and will perform their obligations on a timely basis.

        In addition, certain raw materials and components used in the manufacture of our products are periodically subject to supply shortages, and our business is subject to the risk of price increases and periodic delays in delivery. Similarly, the market for electronic components is subject to cyclical reductions in supply. If we are unable to obtain components from third- party suppliers in the quantities and of the quality that we require, on a timely basis and at acceptable prices, then we may not be able to deliver our products on a timely or cost-effective basis to our customers, which could cause customers to terminate their contracts with us, increase our costs and seriously harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, if any of our suppliers become financially unstable, then we may have to find new suppliers. It may take several months to locate alternative suppliers, if required, or to redesign our products to accommodate components from different suppliers. We may experience significant delays in manufacturing and shipping our products to customers and incur additional development, manufacturing and other costs to establish alternative sources of supply if we lose any of these sources or are required to redesign our products. We cannot

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predict if we will be able to obtain replacement components within the time frames that we require at an affordable cost, if at all.

Any efforts to expand our product offerings beyond our current markets may not succeed, which could negatively impact our operating results.

        We have focused on selling our small UAS to the U.S. military and our industrial electric vehicle fast charging and test systems to large industrial electric vehicle fleet operators primarily in North America and our power cycling and test systems primarily to R&D facilities in North America. We plan, however, to seek to expand our UAS sales into other government and commercial markets and our industrial electric vehicle charging and test systems sales into international markets. Efforts to expand our product offerings beyond the markets that we currently serve may divert management resources from existing operations and require us to commit significant financial resources to unproven businesses that may not generate additional sales, either of which could significantly impair our operating results.

Our failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals from the FAA or other appropriate governmental agency may prevent us from expanding the sales of our small UAS to non-military customers in the United States and require us to incur additional costs in the testing of our products.

        In 2006, the FAA issued a clarification of its existing policies stating that, in order to engage in public use of small UAS in the U.S. National Airspace System, a public (government) operator must obtain a Certificate of Authorization, or COA, from the FAA or fly in restricted airspace. The FAA's COA approval process requires that the public operator certify the airworthiness of the aircraft for its intended purpose, that a collision with another aircraft or other airspace user is extremely improbable, that the small UAS complies with appropriate cloud and terrain clearances and that the operator or spotter of the small UAS is generally within one half-mile laterally and 400 feet vertically of the small UAS while in operation. Furthermore, the FAA's clarification of existing policy states that the rules for radio-controlled hobby aircraft do not apply to public or commercial use of small UAS. The FAA is in the process of drafting updated regulations specifically for small UAS operations, but we cannot assure you that these regulations will allow the use of our small UAS by potential non-military government and commercial customers. If the FAA does not modify its regulations, we may not be able to expand our sales of UAS beyond our military customers, which could harm our business prospects. In addition, if our DoD customers are unable to obtain COAs, we may not be able to perform our flight tests without incurring the additional costs of transporting our small UAS products to military installations, when restricted airspace is available for testing, which could impair our operating results.

The markets in which we compete are characterized by rapid technological change, which requires us to develop new products and product enhancements, and could render our existing products obsolete.

        Continuing technological changes in the market for our products could make our products less competitive or obsolete, either generally or for particular applications. Our future success will depend upon our ability to develop and introduce a variety of new capabilities and enhancements to our existing product offerings, as well as introduce a variety of new product offerings, to address the changing needs of the markets in which we offer our products. Delays in introducing new products and enhancements, the failure to choose correctly among technical alternatives or the failure to offer innovative products or enhancements at competitive prices may cause existing and potential customers to purchase our competitors' products.

        If we are unable to devote adequate resources to develop new products or cannot otherwise successfully develop new products or enhancements that meet customer requirements on a timely basis, our products could lose market share, our revenue and profits could decline, and we could experience operating losses.

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We expect to incur substantial research and development costs and devote significant resources to identifying and commercializing new products, which could significantly reduce our profitability and may never result in revenue to us.

        Our future growth depends on penetrating new markets, adapting existing products to new applications, and introducing new products that achieve market acceptance. We plan to incur substantial research and development costs as part of our efforts to design, develop and commercialize new products and enhance existing products. We spent $24.5 million, or 10% of our revenue, in our fiscal year ended April 30, 2010 on research and development activities and expect to continue to spend significant funds on research and development in the future. Because we account for research and development as an operating expense, these expenditures will adversely affect our earnings in the future. Further, our research and development program may not produce successful results, and our new products may not achieve market acceptance, create additional revenue or become profitable, which could materially harm our business, prospects, financial results and liquidity.

If we are unable to manage our growth, our business could be adversely affected.

        Our headcount and operations have grown rapidly. This rapid growth has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our management and our administrative, operational and financial infrastructure. We anticipate further growth of headcount and facilities will be required to address increases in our product offerings and the geographic scope of our customer base. Our success will depend in part upon the ability of our senior management to manage this growth effectively. To do so, we must continue to hire, train, manage and integrate a significant number of qualified managers and engineers. If our new employees perform poorly, or if we are unsuccessful in hiring, training, managing and integrating these new employees, or retaining these or our existing employees, then our business may suffer.

        For us to continue our growth, we must continue to improve our operational, financial and management information systems. If we are unable to manage our growth while maintaining our quality of service, or if new systems that we implement to assist in managing our growth do not produce the expected benefits, then our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results could be adversely affected.

Our earnings and profit margins may decrease based on the mix of our contracts and programs and other factors related to our contracts.

        In general, we perform our production work under fixed-price contracts and our repair and customer-funded research and development work under cost-plus-fee contracts. Under fixed-price contracts, we perform services under a contract at a stipulated price. Under cost-plus-fee contracts, which are subject to a contract ceiling amount, we are reimbursed for allowable costs and paid a fee, which may be fixed or performance based. We typically experience lower profit margins under cost-plus-fee contracts than under fixed-price contracts, though fixed-price contracts have higher risks. In general, if the volume of services we perform under cost-plus-fee contracts increases relative to the volume of services we perform under fixed- price contracts, we expect that our operating margin will suffer. In addition, our earnings and margins may decrease depending on the costs we incur in contract performance, our achievement of other contract performance objectives and the stage of our performance at which our right to receive fees, particularly under incentive and award fee contracts, is finally determined.

Our senior management and key employees are important to our customer relationships and overall business.

        We believe that our success depends in part on the continued contributions of our senior management and key employees. We rely on our executive officers, senior management and key

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employees to generate business and execute programs successfully. In addition, the relationships and reputation that members of our management team and key employees have established and maintain with government defense personnel contribute to our ability to maintain good customer relations and to identify new business opportunities. We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive officers or key employees, and these individuals could terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of any of our executive officers, members of our senior management team or key employees could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and could materially harm our business and customer relationships and impair our ability to identify and secure new contracts and otherwise manage our business.

We must recruit and retain highly-skilled employees to succeed in our competitive business.

        We depend on our ability to recruit and retain employees who have advanced engineering and technical services skills and who work well with our customers. These employees are in great demand and are likely to remain a limited resource in the foreseeable future. If we are unable to recruit and retain a sufficient number of these employees, then our ability to maintain our competitiveness and grow our business could be negatively affected. In addition, because of the highly technical nature of our products, the loss of any significant number of our existing engineering personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Moreover, some of our U.S. government contracts contain provisions requiring us to staff a program with certain personnel the customer considers key to our successful performance under the contract. In the event we are unable to provide these key personnel or acceptable substitutes, the customer may terminate the contract.

Our business may be dependent upon our employees obtaining and maintaining required security clearances.

        Certain of our U.S. government contracts require our employees to maintain various levels of security clearances, and we are required to maintain certain facility security clearances complying with DoD requirements. The DoD has strict security clearance requirements for personnel who work on classified programs. Obtaining and maintaining security clearances for employees involves a lengthy process, and it is difficult to identify, recruit and retain employees who already hold security clearances. If our employees are unable to obtain security clearances in a timely manner, or at all, or if our employees who hold security clearances are unable to maintain the clearances or terminate employment with us, then a customer requiring classified work could terminate the contract or decide not to renew it upon its expiration. In addition, we expect that many of the contracts on which we will bid will require us to demonstrate our ability to obtain facility security clearances and employ personnel with specified types of security clearances. To the extent we are not able to obtain facility security clearances or engage employees with the required security clearances for a particular contract, we may not be able to bid on or win new contracts, or effectively rebid on expiring contracts.

Cost overruns on our contracts could subject us to losses, decrease our operating margins and adversely affect our future business.

        Fixed-price contracts represented approximately 59% of our revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010. If we fail to anticipate technical problems, estimate costs accurately or control costs during our performance of fixed-price contracts, then we may incur losses on these contracts because we absorb any costs in excess of the fixed price. Under cost-plus-fee contracts, if costs exceed the contract ceiling or are not allowable under the provisions of the contract or applicable regulations, then we may not be able to obtain reimbursement for all such costs. Under time and materials contracts, we are paid for labor at negotiated hourly billing rates and for certain expenses. Under each type of contract, if we are unable to control the costs we incur in performing under the contract, then our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Cost overruns also may adversely affect our ability to sustain existing programs and obtain future contract awards.

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Our products are complex and could have unknown defects or errors, which may give rise to claims against us, diminish our brand or divert our resources from other purposes.

        Our UAS rely on complex avionics, sensors, user-friendly interfaces and tightly-integrated, electromechanical designs to accomplish their missions, and our industrial electric vehicle charging and test systems often rely upon the application of intellectual property for which there may have been little or no prior commercial application. Despite testing, our products have contained defects and errors and may in the future contain defects, errors or performance problems when first introduced, when new versions or enhancements are released, or even after these products have been used by our customers for a period of time. These problems could result in expensive and time-consuming design modifications or warranty charges, delays in the introduction of new products or enhancements, significant increases in our service and maintenance costs, exposure to liability for damages, damaged customer relationships and harm to our reputation, any of which could materially harm our results of operations and ability to achieve market acceptance. In addition, increased development and warranty costs could be substantial and could reduce our operating margins.

        The existence of any defects, errors, or failures in our products or the misuse of our products could also lead to product liability claims or lawsuits against us. A defect, error or failure in one of our UAS could result in injury, death or property damage and significantly damage our reputation and support for UAS in general. While our PosiCharge industrial electric charging systems include certain safety mechanisms, these systems can deliver up to 600 amps of current in their application, and the failure, malfunction or misuse of these systems could result in injury or death. Similarly, the charging systems which we are currently developing for passenger and fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging also have the potential to cause injury, death or property damage in the event that they are misused, malfunction or fail to operate properly due to unknown defects or errors. Although we maintain insurance policies, we cannot assure you that this insurance will be adequate to protect us from all material judgments and expenses related to potential future claims or that these levels of insurance will be available in the future at economical prices or at all. A successful product liability claim could result in substantial cost to us. Even if we are fully insured as it relates to a claim, the claim could nevertheless diminish our brand and divert management's attention and resources, which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The operation of UAS in urban environments may be subject to risks, such as accidental collisions and transmission interference, which may limit demand for our UAS in such environments and harm our business and operating results.

        Urban environments may present certain challenges to the operators of UAS. UAS may accidentally collide with other aircraft, persons or property, which could result in injury, death or property damage and significantly damage the reputation of and support for UAS in general. While we are aware of only one instance of an accidental collision involving an UAS to date, as the usage of UAS has increased, particularly by military customers in urban areas of Afghanistan and Iraq, the danger of such collisions has increased. Furthermore, , the incorporation of our DDL technology into our UAS has increased the number of vehicles which can operate simultaneously in a given area and with this increase has come an increase in the risk of accidental collision.. In addition, obstructions to effective transmissions in urban environments, such as large buildings, may limit the ability of the operator to utilize the aircraft for its intended purpose. The risks or limitations of operating UAS in urban environments may limit their value in such environments, which may limit demand for our UAS and consequently materially harm our business and operating results.

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Our quarterly operating results may vary widely.

        Our quarterly revenue, cash flow and operating results have and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future due to a number of factors, including the following:

•

fluctuations in revenue derived from government contracts, including cost-plus-fee contracts and contracts with a performance-based fee structure;



•

the size and timing of orders from military and other governmental agencies, including increased purchase requests from government customers for equipment and materials in connection with the U.S. government's fiscal year end, which may affect our quarterly operating results;



•

the mix of products that we sell in the period;



•

seasonal fluctuations in customer demand for some of our products or services;



•

unanticipated costs incurred in the introduction of new products;



•

fluctuations in the adoption of our products in new markets;



•

changes in the level of tax credits available for research and development spending;



•

cancellations, delays or contract amendments by our governmental agency customers; and



•

changes in policy or budgetary measures that adversely affect our governmental agency customers.

        Changes in the volume of products and services provided under existing contracts and the number of contracts commenced, completed or terminated during any quarter may cause significant variations in our cash flow from operations because a relatively large amount of our expenses are fixed. We incur significant operating expenses during the start-up and early stages of large contracts and typically do not receive corresponding payments in that same quarter. We may also incur significant or unanticipated expenses when contracts expire or are terminated or are not renewed. In addition, payments due to us from government agencies may be delayed due to billing cycles or as a result of failures of governmental budgets to gain congressional and presidential administration approval in a timely manner.

Shortfalls in available external research and development funding could adversely affect us.

        We depend on our research and development activities to develop the core technologies used in our small UAS and Efficient Energy Systems products and for the development of our future products. A portion of our research and development activities depends on funding by commercial companies and the U.S. government. U.S. government and commercial spending levels can be impacted by a number of variables, including general economic conditions, specific companies' financial performance and competition for U.S. government funding with other U.S. government-sponsored programs in the budget formulation and appropriation processes. Moreover, the U.S., state and local governments provide energy rebates and incentives to commercial companies, which directly impact the amount of research and development that companies appropriate for energy systems. To the extent that these energy rebates and incentives are reduced or eliminated, company funding for research and development could be reduced. Any reductions in available research and development funding could harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

Volatility and cyclicality in the market for electric industrial vehicles could adversely affect us.

        Our PosiCharge industrial electric vehicle charging system products are purchased primarily by operators of fleets of electric industrial vehicles, such as forklift trucks and airport ground support equipment. Consequently, our ability to remain profitable depends in part on the varying conditions in the market for electric industrial vehicles. This market is subject to volatility as it moves in response to

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cycles in the overall business environment and it is also particularly sensitive to the industrial, food and beverage, retail and air travel sectors, which generate a significant portion of the demand for such vehicles. Sales of electric industrial vehicles have historically been cyclical, with demand affected by such economic factors as industrial production, construction levels, demand for consumer and durable goods, interest rates and fuel costs. A significant decline in demand for electric industrial vehicles could adversely affect our revenue and prospects, which would harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our success in the emerging market for passenger and fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging systems will depend on numerous factors which are out of our control.

        The passenger and fleet plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging systems market is expected to grow rapidly, along with innovations in fast charging technologies. As a result, we expect to face increasing competition from various charging system suppliers and large industrial electrical device suppliers such as Eaton Corporation, General Electric Company and Siemens AG. While we believe that we currently have superior charging technology and service infrastructure, we cannot assure you that competitors will not develop and bring to market substantially equivalent or superior technology. In addition, because the passenger electric and fleet charging systems market is relatively new, there is no guarantee that there will be strong consumer demand for charging systems. Demand for such systems could also be directly impacted by fuel costs; if fuel costs were to significantly decrease, the demand for electric vehicles and charging systems could decline. If there is little consumer demand for our passenger electric and fleet charging systems, our revenue and prospects could be adversely affected, which would harm our business, financial and operating results.

Our industrial electric vehicle charging systems business is dependent upon our relationships with third parties with whom we do not have exclusive arrangements.

        To remain competitive in the market for industrial electric vehicle charging systems, we must maintain our access to potential customers and ensure that the service needs of our customers are met adequately. In many cases, we rely on battery and industrial vehicle dealers for access to potential industrial electric vehicle charging system customers. Currently, several of our industrial electric vehicle charging system competitors are working with battery manufacturers to sell fast charge systems and batteries together. Cooperative agreements between our competitors and battery manufacturers could restrict our access to battery dealers and potential industrial electric vehicle charging systems customers, adversely affecting our revenue and prospects. Additionally, we rely on outside service providers to perform post-sale services for our PosiCharge customers. If these service providers fail to perform these services as required or discontinue their business with us, then we could lose customers to competitors, which would harm our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging system business is dependent upon our development of relationships with automakers, utilities and other participants in the plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle and electricity delivery markets.

        In January 2010, we were selected by a major automaker to support the rollout of a new model plug-in electric vehicle across the U.S. Accordingly, we depend upon that relationship and the success of the home charging rollout to those new model plug-in electric vehicle owners to expand our charging system footprint in the U.S. and worldwide. If our partnership with that major automaker terminates prematurely, and we cannot establish similar relationships with other entities with direct access to plug-in electric vehicle owners and drivers, we may not be able to develop a sustainable market for our home charging system, which may delay the commercialization of our charging systems or jeopardize the long-term success of this product line. We believe that the success and growth of our plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging system business for the foreseeable future will also depend on our ability to develop similar working relationships with other automakers in the U.S. and internationally.

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While we have been working with other automakers and utilities to explore business models and to promote our solutions, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in doing so.

We work in international locations where there are high security risks, which could result in harm to our employees and contractors or substantial costs.

        Some of our services are performed in or adjacent to high-risk locations, such as Iraq and Kuwait, where the country or location is suffering from political, social or economic issues, or war or civil unrest. For example, during fiscal 2010, we have had up to ten employees operating in Iraq and/or Kuwait at any one time, both within and outside of U.S. government installations. In those locations where we have employees or operations, we may incur substantial costs to maintain the safety of our personnel. Despite these precautions, the safety of our personnel in these locations may continue to be at risk, and we may in the future suffer the loss of employees and contractors, which could harm our business and operating results.

We may not be able to obtain capital when desired on favorable terms, if at all, or without dilution to our stockholders.

        We operate in emerging and rapidly evolving markets, which makes our prospects difficult to evaluate. It is possible that we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations or otherwise have the capital resources to meet our future capital needs. If this occurs, then we may need additional financing to pursue our business strategies, including to:

•

hire additional engineers and other personnel;



•

develop new or enhance existing products;



•

enhance our operating infrastructure;



•

fund working capital requirements;



•

acquire complementary businesses or technologies; or



•

otherwise respond to competitive pressures.

        If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible debt securities, the percentage ownership of our stockholders could be significantly diluted, and these newly-issued securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing stockholders. We cannot assure you that additional financing will be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. Our former line of credit contained, and future debt financing may contain, covenants or other provisions that limit our operational or financial flexibility. In addition, certain of our customers require that we obtain letters of credit to support our obligations under some of our contracts.

Our investment portfolio includes investments in auction rate securities. Failures in the auctions for these securities affect our liquidity, while deterioration in credit ratings of issuers of such securities and/or third parties insuring such investments may require us to adjust the carrying value of our investment through an impairment of earnings.

        As of April 30, 2010, our $6.5 million of long-term investments, recorded at fair value, consisted entirely of auction rate municipal bonds with maturities that range from approximately 9 to 24 years. These investments have characteristics similar to short-term investments, because at pre-determined intervals, generally ranging from 30 to 35 days, there is a new auction process at which the interest rates for these securities are reset to current interest rates. At the end of such period, we choose to roll-over our holdings or redeem the investments for cash. A market maker facilitates the redemption of the securities and the underlying issuers are not required to redeem the investment within 365 days.

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        In 2008, 2009 and 2010, we experienced failed auctions of our auction rate securities and there is no assurance that auctions on the remaining auction rate securities in our investment portfolio will succeed in the future. As a result, our ability to liquidate our investments in the near term may be limited, and our ability to recover the carrying value of our investments may be limited. An auction failure means that the parties wishing to sell securities were not able to do so. As of June 11, 2010, including the securities involved in failed auctions, we held approximately $6.5 million of these auction rate securities, all of which carry investment grade ratings. These investments are subject to general credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risks, which may be exacerbated by continued problems in the global credit markets, including but not limited to, U.S. subprime mortgage defaults, writedowns by major financial institutions due to deteriorating values of their assets portfolios, including leveraged loans, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps, and other credit-linked products. These and other related factors have affected various sectors of the financial markets and caused credit and liquidity issues. If the issuers of these securities are unable to successfully close future auctions or their credit ratings deteriorate, we may in the future be required to record an impairment charge on these investments. We currently believe these securities are not permanently impaired, primarily due to the government backing of the underlying securities. However, it could take until the final maturity of the underlying notes (up to 24 years) to realize our investments' purchase price of $7.8 million. Based on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents, expected operating cash flows, and our other sources of cash, we do not anticipate that the current lack of liquidity on these investments will affect our ability to continue to operate our business in the ordinary course, however we can provide no assurance as to when these investments will again become liquid or as to whether we may ultimately have to recognize an impairment charge with respect to these investments.

We face a number of risks related to the recent financial crisis and severe tightening in the global credit markets.

        The recent global financial crisis affecting the banking system and financial markets has resulted in a severe tightening in credit markets, a low level of liquidity in many financial markets, and extreme volatility in credit and equity markets. The continuing impact of this financial crisis could affect our business in a number of ways, including:

        Potential Deferment of Purchases and Orders by Customers:    Uncertainty about current and future global economic conditions may cause governments, including the U.S. government, which is our largest customer, consumers and businesses to modify, defer or cancel purchases in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability and declining consumer confidence. Accordingly, future demand for our products could differ materially from our current expectations. Additionally, if customers are not successful in generating sufficient revenue or are precluded from securing financing, they may not be able to pay, or may delay payment of, accounts receivable that are owed to us. Any inability of current and/or potential customers to pay us for our products may adversely affect our earnings and cash flow.

        Negative Impact from Increased Financial Pressures on Key Suppliers:    Our ability to meet customers' demands depends, in part, on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of quality materials, parts and components from our suppliers. Certain of our hardware components and various subsystems are available only from a limited group of suppliers. If certain key suppliers were to become capacity constrained or insolvent as a result of the financial crisis, then we may have to find new suppliers. We may experience significant delays in manufacturing and shipping our products to customers and incur additional development, manufacturing and other costs to establish alternative sources of supply if we lose any of these sources or are required to redesign our products. We cannot predict if we will be able to obtain replacement components within the time frames that we require at an affordable cost, if at all. In addition, credit constraints of key suppliers could result in accelerated payment of accounts payable by us, impacting our cash flow.

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        Customers' Inability to Obtain Financing to Make Purchases from Us and/or Maintain Their Business:    Some of our customers may require substantial financing in order to fund their operations and make purchases from us. The inability of these customers to obtain sufficient credit to finance purchases of our products, or otherwise meet their payment obligations to us could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if the financial crisis results in insolvencies for our customers, it could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

Our international business poses potentially greater risks than our domestic business.

        We derived approximately 7% of our revenue from international sales during the fiscal year ended April 30, 2010. We expect to derive an increasing portion of our revenue from international sales. Our international revenue and operations are subject to a number of material risks, including the following:

•

the unavailability of, or difficulties in obtaining any, necessary governmental authorizations for the export of our UAS products to certain foreign jurisdictions;



•

regulatory requirements that may adversely affect our ability to sell certain products or repatriate profits to the U.S.;



•

the complexity and necessity of using foreign representatives and consultants;



•

difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through foreign legal systems and other relevant legal issues, including fewer legal protections for intellectual property;



•

potential fluctuations in foreign economies and in the value of foreign currencies and interest rates;



•

potential preferences by prospective customers to purchase from local (non-U.S.) sources;



•

general economic and political conditions in the markets in which we operate;



•

laws or regulations relating to non-U.S. military contracts that favor purchases from non-U.S. manufacturers over U.S. manufacturers;



•

the imposition of tariffs, embargoes, export controls and other trade restrictions; and



•

different and changing legal and regulatory requirements, including those pertaining to data protection and privacy, in the jurisdictions in which we currently operate or may operate in the future.

        Negative developments in any of these areas in one or more countries could result in a reduction in demand for our products, the cancellation or delay of orders already placed, threats to our intellectual property, difficulty in collecting receivables and a higher cost of doing business, any of which could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations. Moreover, our sales, including sales to customers outside the U.S., are denominated in dollars, and downward fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar may make our products more expensive than other products, which could harm our business.

Potential future acquisitions could be difficult to integrate, divert the attention of key personnel, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and impair our financial results.

        We intend to consider strategic acquisitions that would add to our customer base, technological capabilities or system offerings. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business, including the following:

•

difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies, products, existing contracts, accounting and personnel of the target company and realizing the anticipated synergies of the combined businesses;

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•

difficulties in supporting and transitioning customers, if any, of the target company;



•

diversion of financial and management resources from existing operations;



•

the price we pay or other resources that we devote may exceed the value we realize, or the value we could have realized if we had allocated the purchase price or other resources to another opportunity;



•

risks of entering new markets in which we have limited or no experience;



•

potential loss of key employees, customers and strategic alliances from either our current business or the target company's business;



•

assumption of unanticipated problems or latent liabilities, such as problems with the quality of the target company's products; and



•

inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset acquisition costs.

        Acquisitions also frequently result in the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets which are subject to potential impairments in the future that could harm our financial results. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity, or securities convertible into equity, then our existing stockholders may be diluted, which could lower the market price of our common stock. If we finance acquisitions through debt, then such future debt financing may contain covenants or other provisions that limit our operational or financial flexibility. As a result, if we fail to properly evaluate acquisitions or investments, then we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of any such acquisitions, and we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate. The failure to successfully evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments or otherwise adequately address these risks could materially harm our business and financial results.

Environmental laws and regulations and unforeseen costs could impact our future earnings.

        The manufacture and sale of our products in certain states and countries may subject us to environmental and other regulations. For example, we obtain a significant number of our electronics components from companies located in East Asia, where environmental rules may be less stringent than in the United States. Over time, the countries where these companies are located may adopt more stringent environmental regulations, resulting in an increase in our manufacturing costs. Furthermore, certain environmental laws, including the U.S. Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, impose strict, joint and several liability on current and previous owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances and impose liability for damages to natural resources. These laws often impose liability even if the owner or operator did not know of, or was not responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. These environmental laws also assess liability on persons who arrange for hazardous substances to be sent to disposal or treatment facilities when such facilities are found to be contaminated. Such persons can be responsible for cleanup costs even if they never owned or operated the contaminated facility. Although we have not yet been named a responsible party at a contaminated site, we could be named a potentially responsible party in the future. We cannot assure you that such existing laws or future laws will not have a material adverse effect on our future earnings or results of operations.

Our plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging system business is subject to federal, state and international laws regarding data protection and privacy, and a privacy breach could damage our reputation, expose us to litigation risk and adversely affect our business.

        In connection with our emerging plug-in electric and hybrid vehicle charging system business, we collect, process and retain certain sensitive and confidential customer information. As a result, we are subject to increasingly rigorous federal, state and international laws regarding privacy and data protection. Compliance with these constantly evolving laws may cause us to incur significant costs or

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require changes to our business practices, which could reduce our revenue. If we fail to comply with these laws, proceedings may be brought against us by governmental entities or others or penalties may be imposed on us, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. While we rely, in part, on security services and software provided by outside vendors to protect sensitive and confidential customer information, there is no guarantee that the protections that we or our outside vendors have implemented will prevent security breaches. Any actual, threatened or perceived security breach that could result in misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential customer information could harm our reputation and relationship with customers, expose us to litigation risk and liability and adversely affect our business.

Our business and operations are subject to the risks of earthquakes and other natural catastrophic events.

        Our corporate headquarters, research and development and manufacturing operations are located in Southern California, a region known for seismic activity and wild fires. A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or other catastrophic event, could severely affect our ability to conduct normal business operations, and as a result, our future operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our U.S. Government Contracts

We are subject to extensive government regulation, and our failure to comply with applicable regulations could subject us to penalties that may restrict our ability to conduct our business.

        As a contractor to the U.S. government, we are subject to and must comply with various government regulations that impact our revenue, operating costs, profit margins and the internal organization and operation of our business. The most significant regulations and regulatory authorities affecting our business include the following:

•

the Federal Acquisition Regulations and supplemental agency regulations, which comprehensively regulate the formation and administration of, and performance under, U.S. government contracts;



•

the Truth in Negotiations Act, which requires certification and disclosure of all factual cost and pricing data in connection with contract negotiations;



•

the False Claims Act and the False Statements Act, which impose penalties for payments made on the basis of false facts provided to the government and on the basis of false statements made to the government, respectively;



•

the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S. companies from providing anything of value to a foreign official to help obtain, retain or direct business, or obtain any unfair advantage;



•

the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission, which regulate the wireless spectrum allocations upon which UAS depend for operation and data transmission in the U.S.;



•

the Federal Aviation Administration, which is in the process of drafting regulations specifically for small UAS operation in the U.S.;



•

the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which regulate the export of controlled technical data, defense articles and defense services and restrict from which countries we may purchase materials and services used in the production of certain of our products; and

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•

laws, regulations and executive orders restricting the use and dissemination of information classified for national security purposes and the exportation of certain products and technical data.

        Also, we need special security clearances and regulatory approvals to continue working on certain of our projects with the U.S. government. Classified programs generally will require that we comply with various executive orders, federal laws and regulations and customer security requirements that may include restrictions on how we develop, store, protect and share information, and may require our employees to obtain government security clearances. Our failure to comply with applicable regulations, rules and approvals or misconduct by any of our employees could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, the loss of security clearances, the loss of our government contracts or our suspension or debarment from contracting with the U.S. government generally, any of which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are also subject to certain regulations of comparable government agencies in other countries, and our failure to comply with these non-U.S. regulations could also harm our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business could be adversely affected by a negative audit or investigation by the U.S. government.

        U.S. government agencies, primarily the DCAA and the DCMA, routinely audit and investigate government contractors. These agencies review a contractor's performance under its contracts, cost structure and compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards. These agencies also may review the adequacy of, and a contractor's compliance with, its internal control systems and policies, including the contractor's purchasing, property, estimating, compensation and management information systems.

        Like most government contractors, our contracts are audited and reviewed on a continual basis by the DCMA and the DCAA. Audits for costs incurred on work performed after fiscal year 2005 have not yet been completed. In addition, non-audit reviews or investigations by the government may still be conducted on all of our government contracts. Any costs found to be improperly allocated to a specific contract will not be reimbursed, while such costs already reimbursed must be refunded. If an audit or investigation of our business were to uncover improper or illegal activities, then we could be subject to civil and criminal penalties and administrative sanctions, including termination of contracts, forfeiture of profits, suspension of payments, fines and suspension or prohibition from doing business with the U.S. government. We could suffer serious harm to our reputation if allegations of impropriety or illegal acts were made against us, even if the allegations were inaccurate. In addition, responding to governmental audits or investigations may involve significant expense and divert management attention. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected.

        Moreover, if any of our administrative processes and systems are found not to comply with the applicable requirements, we may be subjected to increased government scrutiny or required to obtain additional governmental approvals that could delay or otherwise adversely affect our ability to compete for or perform contracts. In February 2010 we were notified by the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, that it had initiated an investigation into our billing practices with respect to our government contracts. We are currently cooperating with this investigation, which we believe may be the result of prior DCAA audit activity. An unfavorable outcome to such an audit or investigation by the DCAA, DOJ or other government agency, could materially adversely affect our competitive position, affect our ability to obtain the maximum price for our products and services, and result in a substantial reduction of our revenues.

        If we were suspended or debarred from contracting with the federal government generally, or any specific agency, if our reputation or relationship with government agencies were impaired, or if the government otherwise ceased doing business with us or significantly decreased the amount of business it does with us, our revenue and operating results would be materially harmed.

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Some of our contracts with the U.S. government allow it to use inventions developed under the contracts and to disclose technical data to third parties, which could harm our ability to compete.

        Some of our contracts allow the U.S. government to use, royalty-free, or have others use, inventions developed under those contracts on behalf of the government. Some of the contracts allow the federal government to disclose technical data without constraining the recipient on how those data are used. The ability of third parties to use patents and technical data for government purposes creates the possibility that the government could attempt to establish alternative suppliers or to negotiate with us to reduce our prices. The potential that the government may release some of the technical data without constraint creates the possibility that third parties may be able to use this data to compete with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

U.S. government contracts are generally not fully funded at inception and contain certain provisions that may be unfavorable to us, which could prevent us from realizing our contract backlog and materially harm our business and results of operations.

        DoD contracts typically involve long lead times for design and development, and are subject to significant changes in contract scheduling. Congress generally appropriates funds on a fiscal year basis even though a program may continue for several years. Consequently, programs are often only partially funded initially, and additional funds are committed only as Congress makes further appropriations. The termination or reduction of funding for a government program would result in a loss of anticipated future revenue attributable to that program.

        The actual receipt of revenue on awards included in backlog may never occur or may change because a program schedule could change or the program could be canceled, or a contract could be reduced, modified or terminated early.

        In addition, U.S. government contracts generally contain provisions permitting termination, in whole or in part, at the government's convenience or for contractor default. Since a substantial majority of our revenue is dependent on the procurement, performance and payment under our U.S. government contracts, the termination of one or more critical government contracts could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. Termination arising out of our default could expose us to liability and have a material adverse effect on our ability to re-compete for future contracts and orders. Moreover, several of our contracts with the U.S. government do not contain a limitation of liability provision, creating a risk of responsibility for indirect, incidental damages and consequential damages. These provisions could cause substantial liability for us, especially given the use to which our products may be put.

U.S. government contracts are subject to a competitive bidding process that can consume significant resources without generating any revenue.

        U.S. government contracts are frequently awarded only after formal, protracted competitive bidding processes and, in many cases, unsuccessful bidders for U.S. government contracts are provided the opportunity to protest contract awards through various agency, administrative and judicial channels. We derive significant revenue from U.S. government contracts that were awarded through a competitive bidding process. Much of the UAS business that we expect to seek in the foreseeable future likely will be awarded through competitive bidding. Competitive bidding presents a number of risks, including the following:

•

the need to bid on programs in advance of the completion of their design, which may result in unforeseen technological difficulties and cost overruns;



•

the substantial cost and managerial time and effort that must be spent to prepare bids and proposals for contracts that may not be awarded to us;

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•

the need to estimate accurately the resources and cost structure that will be required to service any contract we are awarded; and



•

the expense and delay that may arise if our competitors protest or challenge contract awards made to us pursuant to competitive bidding, and the risk that any such protest or challenge could result in the delay of our contract performance, the distraction of management, the resubmission of bids on modified specifications, or in termination, reduction or modification of the awarded contract.

        We may not be provided the opportunity to bid on contracts that are held by other companies and are scheduled to expire if the government extends the existing contract. If we are unable to win particular contracts that are awarded through a competitive bidding process, then we may not be able to operate in the market for goods and services that are provided under those contracts for a number of years. If we are unable to win new contract awards over any extended period consistently, then our business and prospects will be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we fail to protect, or incur significant costs in defending, our intellectual property and other proprietary rights, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially harmed.

        Our success depends, in large part, on our ability to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights. We rely primarily on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and unfair competition laws, as well as license agreements and other contractual provisions, to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights. However, a significant portion of our technology is not patented, and we may be unable or may not seek to obtain patent protection for this technology. Moreover, existing U.S. legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights offer only limited protection, may not provide us with any competitive advantages, and may be challenged by third parties. The laws of countries other than the United States may be even less protective of intellectual property rights. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may be unable to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property or otherwise gaining access to our technology. Unauthorized third parties may try to copy or reverse engineer our products or portions of our products or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property. Moreover, many of our employees have access to our trade secrets and other intellectual property. If one or more of these employees leave us to work for one of our competitors, then they may disseminate this proprietary information, which may as a result damage our competitive position. If we fail to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights, then our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially harmed.

        In addition, affirmatively defending our intellectual property rights and investigating whether we are pursuing a product or service development that may violate the rights of others may entail significant expense. We have not found it necessary to resort to legal proceedings to protect our intellectual property, but may find it necessary to do so in the future. Any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative processes or litigation. If we resort to legal proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights or to determine the validity and scope of the intellectual property or other proprietary rights of others, then the proceedings could result in significant expense to us and divert the attention and efforts of our management and technical employees, even if we prevail.

We may be sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights, which could be costly, time-consuming and limit our ability to use certain technologies in the future.

        We may become subject to claims that our technologies infringe upon the intellectual property or other proprietary rights of third parties. Any claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming

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and expensive, and could divert our management's attention away from the execution of our business plan. Moreover, any settlement or adverse judgment resulting from these claims could require us to pay substantial amounts or obtain a license to continue to use the disputed technology, or otherwise restrict or prohibit our use of the technology. We cannot assure you that we would be able to obtain a license from the third party asserting the claim on commercially reasonable terms, if at all, that we would be able to develop alternative technology on a timely basis, if at all, or that we would be able to obtain a license to use a suitable alternative technology to permit us to continue offering, and our customers to continue using, our affected product. An adverse determination also could prevent us from offering our products to others. Infringement claims asserted against us may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Risks Relating to Securities Markets and Investment in Our Stock

The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

        The market prices for securities of emerging technology companies have historically been highly volatile, and the market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot control, including the following:

•

U.S. government spending levels, both generally and by our particular customers;



•

The volume of operational activity by the U.S. military;



•

delays in the payment of our invoices by government payment offices, resulting in potentially reduced earnings during a particular fiscal quarter;



•

announcements of new products or technologies, commercial relationships or other events relating to us or our industry or our competitors;



•

failure of any of our key products to gain market acceptance;



•

variations in our quarterly operating results;



•

perceptions of the prospects for the markets in which we compete;



•

changes in general economic conditions;



•

changes in securities analysts' estimates of our financial performance;



•

regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries;



•

fluctuations in stock market prices and trading volumes of similar companies;



•

news about the markets in which we compete or regarding our competitors;



•

terrorist acts or military action related to international conflicts, wars or otherwise;



•

sales of large blocks of our common stock, including sales by our executive officers, directors and significant stockholders; and



•

additions or departures of key personnel.

        In addition, the equity markets in general, and NASDAQ in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Further, the market prices of securities of emerging technology companies have been particularly volatile. These broad market and industry factors may affect the market price of our common stock adversely, regardless of our operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company's securities, securities class action

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litigation often has been instituted against that company. This type of litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources.

Our management, whose interests may not be aligned with yours, is able to exert significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval.

        As of June 11, 2010, our directors, executive officers and their affiliates collectively beneficially owned 4,900,272 shares, or approximately 22%, of our total outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, our directors and executive officers as a group may be able to exert significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors. The interests of our directors and executive officers may not be fully aligned with yours. Although there is no agreement among our directors and executive officers with respect to the voting of their shares, this concentration of ownership may delay, defer or even prevent a change in control of our company, and make transactions more difficult or impossible without the support of all or some of our directors and executive officers. These transactions might include proxy contests, tender offers, mergers or other purchases of common stock that could give you the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price for shares of our common stock.

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments.

        None.

Item 2.    Properties.

        All of our facilities are leased. Our corporate headquarters are located in Monrovia, California where we lease approximately 13,000 square feet under an agreement expiring in September 2010. We have several other leased facilities in Monrovia that house our Efficient Energy Systems business. These facilities have total square footage of approximately 71,000 and leases that expire between the end of 2010 and 2011.

        Our principal UAS facilities are located in Simi Valley, California. As of April 30, 2010, we leased three facilities for our UAS segment that have total square footage of approximately 236,000 under leases that expire between 2012 and 2014. These three facilities are used for administration, research and development, logistics and manufacturing. In addition, we maintain a 21,000 square foot services facility in Huntsville, Alabama, the lease for which expires in 2014.

        We additionally have a small leased office in Virginia for business development and sales as well as lease arrangements with several test flight fields in California. We believe that our current leased facilities and additional or alternative space available to us will be adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future.

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings.

        We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings. We are, however, subject to lawsuits from time to time in the ordinary course of business.

Item 4.    (Removed and Reserved)

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PART II

Item 5.    Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Common Stock

        The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low sales prices for our common stock from May 1, 2008 through April 30, 2010. The following quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission, and may not represent actual transactions.

        On June 11, 2010, the closing sales price of our common stock as reported on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $25.02 per share. As of June 11, 2010, there were 77 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

        We currently intend to retain all future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant.

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Stock Price Performance Graph

        The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative returns on our common stock, based on the market price of the common stock, with the cumulative total returns of companies in the Russell 2000 Index and the SPADES Index.

Cumulative Total Return

        The following table shows the value of $100 invested on January 22, 2007 in AeroVironment, Inc., the Russell 2000 Index, and the SPADES Index.

        The stock price performance shown on the graph above is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. Factual material was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but we are not responsible for any errors or omissions contained therein. No portions of this graph shall be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act through any general statement incorporating by reference in its entirety the report in which this graph appears, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate this graph or a portion of it by reference. In addition, this graph shall not be deemed filed under either the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

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Item 6.    Selected Consolidated Financial Data.

        The following selected financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements. The information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of results of future operations, and should be read in conjunction with Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" of this Form 10-K in order to understand fully factors that may affect the comparability of the financial data presented below.

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Introduction

        The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our "Selected Consolidated Financial Data" and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included herein as Item 8. This discussion contains forward-looking statements. Refer to "Forward-Looking Statements" on page 2 and "Risk Factors" beginning on page 21, for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks, and assumptions associated with these statements.

Overview

        We design, develop, produce and support a technologically-advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, that we supply primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense, or DoD, charging systems for electric vehicle batteries and power cycling and test systems for electric vehicles. We derive the majority of our revenue from these business areas and we believe that the markets for these solutions have significant growth potential. Additionally, we believe that some of the innovative potential products in our research and development pipeline, some of which we receive customer funding to develop, others we fund ourselves, will emerge as new growth platforms in the future, creating additional market opportunities.

        The success we have achieved with our current products stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing our proprietary technologies, to help our government and commercial customers operate more effectively and efficiently. Our core technological capabilities, developed through nearly 40 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures, electric propulsion systems, efficient electric energy generation and storage

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systems, high-density energy packaging, miniaturization, controls integration and systems engineering optimization.

        Our Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production and support of innovative UAS that provide situational awareness to increase the security and effectiveness of our customers' operations. Our Efficient Energy Systems business segment focuses primarily on the design, development, production and support of innovative efficient electric energy systems that address the growing demand for clean transportation and clean energy solutions.

Revenue

        We generate our revenue primarily from the sale and support of our small UAS and electric vehicle fast charge and test systems solutions. Support for our small UAS customers includes training, spare parts, product repair, product replacement, and the customer-contracted operation of our small UAS by our personnel. We refer to these support activities collectively as our services operation. We derive most of our small UAS revenue from fixed-price and cost-plus-fee contracts with the U.S. government, and most of our electric vehicle fast charge and test systems revenue from sales and service to commercial customers.

Cost of Sales

        Cost of sales consists of direct costs and allocated indirect costs. Direct costs include labor, materials, travel, subcontracts and other costs directly related to the execution of a specific contract. Indirect costs include overhead expenses, fringe benefits and other costs that are not directly charged to a specific contract.

Gross Margin

        Gross margin is equal to revenue minus cost of sales. We use gross margin as a financial metric to help us understand trends in our direct costs and allocated indirect costs when compared to the revenue we generate.

Research and Development Expense

        Research and development, or R&D, is an integral part of our business model. We conduct significant internally funded research and development and anticipate that research and development expense will continue to increase in absolute dollars for the foreseeable future. Our UAS research and development activities focus specifically on creating capabilities that support our existing small UAS product portfolio as well as new UAS platforms. These activities are funded both externally by customers and internally.

Selling, General and Administrative

        Our selling, general and administrative expenses, or SG&A, include salaries and other expenses related to selling, marketing and proposal activities, and other administrative costs. SG&A is an important financial metric that we analyze to help us evaluate the contribution of our selling, marketing and proposal activities to revenue generation.

Other Income and Expenses

        Other income and expenses includes interest income and interest expense.

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Income Tax Expense

        Our effective tax rates are substantially lower than the statutory rates primarily due to research and development tax credits.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

        Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations discusses our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. When we prepare these consolidated financial statements, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Some of our accounting policies require that we make subjective judgments, including estimates that involve matters that are inherently uncertain. Our most critical estimates include those related to revenue recognition, inventories and reserves for excess and obsolescence, self-insured liabilities, accounting for stock-based awards, and income taxes. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for our judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

        We believe the following critical accounting estimates affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements. See Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for our Organization and Significant Accounting Policies. There have been no material changes made to the critical accounting estimates during the periods presented in the consolidated financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

        Significant management judgments and estimates must be made and used in connection with the recognition of revenue in any accounting period. Material differences in the amount of revenue in any given period may result if these judgments or estimates prove to be incorrect or if management's estimates change on the basis of development of the business or market conditions.

        The substantial majority of our revenue is generated pursuant to written contractual arrangements to design, develop, manufacture and/or modify complex products, and to provide related engineering, technical and other services according to customer specifications. These contracts may be fixed price or cost-reimbursable. We consider all contracts for treatment in accordance with authoritative guidance for contracts with multiple deliverables.

        Revenue from product sales not under contractual arrangement is recognized at the time title and the risk and rewards of ownership pass, which typically occurs when the products are shipped and collection is reasonably assured.

        Revenue and profits on fixed-price contracts are recognized using percentage-of-completion methods of accounting. Revenue and profits on fixed-price production contracts, whose units are produced and delivered in a continuous or sequential process, are recorded as units are delivered based on their selling prices, or the units-of-delivery method. Revenue and profits on other fixed-price contracts with significant engineering as well as production requirements are recorded based on the ratio of total actual incurred costs to date to the total estimated costs for each contract, or the cost-to-cost method. Under percentage-of-completion methods of accounting, a single estimated total profit margin is used to recognize profit for each contract over its entire period of performance, which can exceed one year. Accounting for revenue and profits on a fixed-price contract requires the

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preparation of estimates of (1) the total contract revenue, (2) the total costs at completion, which is equal to the sum of the actual incurred costs to date on the contract and the estimated costs to complete the contract's statement of work and (3) the measurement of progress towards completion. The estimated profit or loss at completion on a contract is equal to the difference between the total estimated contract revenue and the total estimated cost at completion. Under the units-of-delivery method, sales on a fixed-price type contract are recorded as the units are delivered during the period based on their contractual selling prices. Under the cost-to-cost method, sales on a fixed-price type contract are recorded at amounts equal to the ratio of actual cumulative costs incurred divided by total estimated costs at completion, multiplied by (A) the total estimated contract revenue, less (B) the cumulative sales recognized in prior periods. The profit recorded on a contract in any period using either the units-of-delivery method or cost-to-cost method is equal to (X) the current estimated total profit margin multiplied by the cumulative sales recognized, less (Y) the amount of cumulative profit previously recorded for the contract. In the case of a contract for which the total estimated costs exceed the total estimated revenue, a loss arises, and a provision for the entire loss is recorded in the period that it becomes evident. The unrecoverable costs on a loss contract that are expected to be incurred in future periods are recorded in the program cost.

        Revenue and profits on cost-reimbursable type contracts are recognized as costs are incurred on the contract, at an amount equal to the costs plus the estimated profit on those costs. The estimated profit on a cost-reimbursable contract is generally fixed or variable based on the contractual fee arrangement.

        We review cost performance and estimates to complete at least quarterly and in many cases more frequently. Adjustments to original estimates for a contract's revenue, estimated costs at completion and estimated profit or loss are often required as work progresses under a contract, as experience is gained and as more information is obtained, even though the scope of work required under the contract may not change, or if contract modifications occur. The impact of revisions in profit estimates for all types of contracts are recognized on a cumulative catch-up basis in the period in which the revisions are made. Amounts representing contract change orders or claims are included in revenue only when they can be reliably estimated and their realization is probable. Incentives or penalties and awards applicable to performance on contracts are considered in estimating revenue and profit rates, and are recorded when there is sufficient information to assess anticipated contract performance.

Inventories and Reserve for Excess and Obsolescence

        Our policy for valuation of inventory, including the determination of obsolete or excess inventory, requires us to perform a detailed assessment of inventory at each balance sheet date, which includes a review of, among other factors, an estimate of future demand for products within specific time horizons, valuation of existing inventory, as well as product lifecycle and product development plans. Inventory reserves are also provided to cover risks arising from slow-moving items. We write down our inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated market value based on assumptions about future demand and market conditions. We may be required to record additional inventory write-downs if actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected by our management.

Self-Insured Liability

        We are self-insured for employee medical claims, subject to individual and aggregate stop-loss policies. We estimate a liability for claims filed and incurred but not reported claims based upon recent claims experience and an analysis of the average period of time between the occurrence of a claim and the time it is reported to and paid by us. We perform an annual evaluation of this policy and have determined that for all prior years during which this policy has been in effect there have been cost advantages to this policy, as compared to obtaining commercially available employee medical insurance.

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However, actual results may differ materially from those estimated and could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Income Taxes

        We are required to estimate our income taxes, which includes estimating our current income taxes as well as measuring the temporary differences resulting from different treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes. We currently have significant deferred assets, which are subject to periodic recoverability assessments. Realizing our deferred tax assets principally depends on our achieving projected future taxable income. We may change our judgments regarding future profitability due to future market conditions and other factors, which may result in recording a valuation allowance against those deferred tax assets.

Fiscal Periods

        Our fiscal year ends on April 30. Due to our fixed year end date of April 30, our first and fourth quarters each consist of approximately 13 weeks. The second and third quarters each consist of 13 weeks. Our first three quarters end on a Saturday.

Results of Operations

        The following table sets forth certain historical consolidated income statement data expressed in dollars (in thousands) and as a percentage of revenue for the periods indicated. Certain amounts may not sum due to rounding.

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