Visiongain Report Forecasts Significant Growth Outpacing
Aircraft Development
Global spending on payloads and subsystems for military and
security purposes has jumped in recent years on the back of a surge
in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployment. Behind the growing use
of UAVs lies increasing eagerness on the part of governments
worldwide to harness unprecedented intelligence, surveillance,
reconnaissance, communication and attack capabilities provided by
sensors and payloads carried by expendable aircraft. As a result,
an increasing number of companies continue to expand into the
market for sensors, radars, cameras, signals intelligence (SIGINT),
detection, communications and weaponry intended for unmanned
systems. Visiongain's The UAV Payload and Subsystems Market
2011-2021 report calculates that the global UAV payload market -
including weaponry, electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR), radars and
lasers, intelligence sensors, communication devices, navigation
sensors and detection sensors - will reach $2.9 billion in
2011.
The pressure on manufacturers to produce payloads and sensors
that are capable of delivering more advanced imagery, stronger
processing power, higher-capacity storage solutions, intensified
electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and sharper intelligence grows
continuously. State buyers increasingly demand sensor packages that
can provide more on-board autonomy, less burdensome weaponry and
more sensitive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
without an exponential jump in costs or weight.
Although the unmanned-system payload and subsystems market is
naturally constrained by the development and direction of UAV size,
weight and power (SWaP), visiongain sees payload development
outpacing vehicle development on a technological level. In terms of
sale volumes, the use of multiple sensors and the stocking of
substitute sensors for changes on the field divorce the respective
unit sale figures of sensors and their carriers. Indeed, over the
longer term, payload manufacturers - particularly at the higher end
- must continue to struggle to meet the key unique selling point of
UAVs, that is to say their ultimate expendability, while meeting
demand for more advanced technology and suppressing costs.
Visiongain believes this will remain a determinant of the size of
UAV payload market - and the UAV market itself - going forward.
The need to fill gaps in capability will inevitably continue to
drive payload development and sales. Shortcomings in communications
and data systems that limit the amount of real time video
transmission will need to be overcome as demands for
higher-resolution imagery or video increase. Indeed, the lack of
more advanced communications and data capacity is arguable
restricting the development of detection and avoidance technology,
particularly where these are based on on-board, autonomous actions
by the UAV using sensors.
The UAV Payload and Subsystems Market 2011-2021 report quantifies
what it sees as significant growth in UAV payload spending over the
next 10 years, while providing analysis to support its
country-level and subsector-level forecasts.