By Anvee Bhutani
Shares of AeroVironment rose after the company said it was awarded a $500 million U.S. Army contract to provide counter-unmanned aerial systems and counter-small unmanned aerial systems capabilities.
Shares were recently up 10% at $189.05 after earlier climbing as much as 15%.
The award covers technologies designed to detect, track and defeat hostile drones, an area of growing military spending as conflicts around the world have underscored the threat posed by low-cost unmanned aircraft.
Write to Anvee Bhutani at anvee.bhutani@wsj.com