Teal Group Releases 2010 UAV Market Profile and Forecast
While their rate of growth may decline somewhat, Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) continue to be the most dynamic growth
sector of the world aerospace industry, reports Teal analysts in
their latest integrated market analysis.
In a news release, Teal Group says its 2010 market study
estimates that UAV spending will more than double over the next
decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $4.9 billion
annually to $11.5 billion, totaling just over $80 billion in the
next ten years. "With striking examples in Afghanistan and
Pakistan, the most significant catalyst to this market has been the
enormous growth of interest in UAVs by the U.S. military, tied to
the general trend toward information warfare and net-centric
systems," said Teal senior analyst Steve Zaloga, one of the authors
of the new, over 400-page study. "UAVs are a key element in the
intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portion of
this revolution, and they are expanding into other missions as well
with the advent of hunter-killer UAVs."
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The study suggests that the U.S. will account for 76% of the
worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next
decade, and about 58% of the procurement. "We expect that the sales
of UAVs will follow recent patterns of high-tech arms procurement
worldwide, with Europe representing the second largest market,
again followed very closely by Asia-Pacific," said Zaloga. "Africa
and Latin America are expected to be very modest markets for
UAVs."
The 2010 study also provides 10-year funding and production
forecasts for a wide range of UAV payloads, including
Electro-Optic/Infrared Sensors, Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs),
SIGINT and EW Systems, C4I Systems, and CBRN Sensors, worth almost
$3 billion in Fiscal Year 2010 and forecast to increase to nearly
$6 billion in Fiscal Year 2019. The UAV electronics market will
grow steadily, with especially fast growth and opportunities in SAR
and SIGINT/EW.
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The 2010 study also includes a UAV Manufacturers Market Overview
that reflects the worldwide UAV market "continuing as one of the
hottest areas of growth for defense and aerospace companies," said
Philip Finnegan, third author of the new Teal Group UAV study. The
new study will reflect the rapid growth of interest in the UAV
business by increasing the number of companies covered to almost 30
U.S., European and Israeli companies, and reflect the fundamental
reshaping of the industrial environment.
"Smaller companies can successfully compete against larger
players, as AAI Corp., Insitu, General Atomics and AeroVironment
have all shown," Finnegan said. "Now the prime contractors are
buying the successful smaller companies." Advanced Ceramics, AAI
Corp., Insitu and Athena Technologies have all been acquired within
the past two years. In addition, Swift Engineering sold its BAT UAV
line to Northrop Grumman.