AeroVironment, Inc. announced Paul ?Church? Hutton has joined as Vice President, Government Relations. Reporting to CEO Wahid Nawabi, Mr. Hutton will strengthen the company?s strategic engagement with the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress.

Mr. Hutton comes to AeroVironment from Mercury Systems where he led all aspects of the company?s government relations program. Before that, he ran legislative affairs for Sierra Nevada Corporation and was head of Washington operations for a venture-backed start up. A retired Army officer and combat veteran, Mr. Hutton spent a decade in senior staff positions on Capitol Hill including on the professional staff of the Senate Appropriations and Senate Armed Services Committees and in the offices of Senators John McCain and Joe Manchin.

He holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University and George Mason University.