AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV)

Defense drones and systems, administration counted. Read November 8, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending April 30, 2026, filed June 29, 2026. Ranked 25 of the 275 Industrials companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

AeroVironment states 3,991 full-time and 100 part-time employees by function after the BlueHalo acquisition; its drones and strike systems lead at aerospace products with electronic and space systems at instruments, services at engineering, and the 907 general and administrative personnel at management of companies.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 38% now, 52% at the end of 2027, 55% at the end of 2028, 56% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 56% desk work, 16% people work and 27% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 41% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 52% becomes checking a model's work and 5% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

4,091 employees as of April 30, 2026 (sum of stated parts). The filing states no count by country; most work is for the U.S. Department of Defense under security clearances, and 72% of revenue is domestic by the data service.

The filing: “As of April 30, 2026, we had 3,991 full time employees and 100 part time employees, of whom 2,366 were in R&D and engineering, 181 were in sales and marketing, 637 were in operations and 907 were general and administrative personnel including over 208 employees with a PhD.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: 3,991 full-time and 100 part-time employees; 2,366 in R&D and engineering, 181 in sales and marketing, 637 in operations and 907 general and administrative, over 208 with a PhD; the count rose from 1,456 with the BlueHalo acquisition in fiscal 2026; fiscal year ends April 30.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.

• Boeing (BA, 182,000 employees)32% now, 47% by 2028
• RTX (RTX, 180,000 employees)32% now, 48% by 2028
• Lockheed Martin (LMT, 123,000 employees)35% now, 51% by 2028
• Honeywell International Inc. (HON, 101,000 employees)34% now, 49% by 2028
• Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC, 95,000 employees)34% now, 50% by 2028
• GE Aerospace (GE, 57,000 employees)33% now, 49% by 2028
• Textron Inc. (TXT, 34,000 employees)31% now, 44% by 2028
• Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM, 25,430 employees)31% now, 43% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

30 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing describes its products as AI-powered: a software stack for AI-driven intelligence fusion, command and control and targeting, autonomous counter-drone systems powered by AI and machine learning, and electronic warfare systems built on open architectures, in 30 sentences.

• “The software stack is a mission-ready suite of artificial intelligence ("AI") powered software tools providing AI driven intelligence fusion and the ability to unify command and control, surveillance, targeting, and training under one integrated framework. ​ Precision Strike and Defensive Systems ("PSDS").”
• “This autonomous system, powered by AI and machine learning ("ML"), defeats Group 1 and 2 drones, providing non-specialist operators with comprehensive situational awareness and defensive capabilities against UAS threats.”
• “This next-generation C-UAS drone and air defense missile system provides enhanced lethality at range against Group 3 UAS and other large aerial threats, while seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure and command and control systems. ​ ● Electronic Warfare Systems : Our EW Systems are designed utilizing sensor open system architecture ("SOSA") and modular open systems architecture ("M...”
• “Included in "Other" is MacCready Works, our innovation engine where autonomy, AI, and advanced platform technologies converge to deliver next-generation capabilities; Unmanned Maritime ("UUV"); and Uncrewed Ground Systems ("UGV"). ​ ● MacCready Works: MacCready Works serves as our advanced concepts and innovation organization, focused on the rapid development, prototyping and maturation of unma...”
• “Directed energy C-UAS systems use high energy laser systems paired with AI/ML enabled sensing technology to track, identify, and defeat targets. ​ ● Digital beamforming technology: Our proprietary multi-band/beam software defined antenna ("MSDA") tile allows simultaneous communication with multiple satellites across different frequency bands and provides agile, resilient, and modular solutions...”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20216median 0
• Fiscal 20228median 0
• Fiscal 202311median 1
• Fiscal 202427median 4
• Fiscal 202530median 10

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The collector's 3,991 is the full-time count; the headcount is the sum of the stated full-time and part-time parts (rule 2).
• The split among aerospace, instruments and engineering services is by description (c) within the stated function counts; the filing counts no employees by segment.
• No count by country is stated; the U.S. share is left null.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001104659-26-078906, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.