AeroVironment CEO describes how drones are the future of modern warfare

In a Thursday interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi described how his company's drones are used in battle, saying the technology will be a significant part of modern warfare.
"The fundamental shift in warfare is that distributed intelligent robotic systems, loitering munitions, small drones — that's what we specialize in — is going to be a much bigger piece of the warfare in the future," he said.

In a Thursday interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi described how the defense contractor's drones are used in battle, saying the technology will be a significant part of modern warfare.

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"The fundamental shift in warfare is that distributed intelligent robotic systems, loitering munitions, small drones — that's what we specialize in — is going to be a much bigger piece of the warfare in the future," he said.

Nawabi said that a broad swath of government leaders were interested in the technology.

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Nawabi discussed weapons including the Switchblade 600 — a kamikaze-type drone — and the Puma AE, which is primarily used for surveillance. The former is unique because it is able to "loiter" for 40 minutes to find a target, he said. According to Nawabi, the U.S. Army plans to buy more than a thousand Switchblade 600s as part of the Pentagon's latest initiative.

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