Called Most Dynamic Sector In Aerospace
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will continue to be the most
dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry. That's the
word from a forthcoming Teal Group market study, previewed Thursday
at this week's AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America 2006 in
Orlando, FL.
The study estimates that UAV spending will more than triple over
the next decade, from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $2.7
billion annually to $8.3 billion within a decade, totaling close to
$55 billion in the next ten years.
"The most significant catalyst to this market has been the
enormous growth of interest in UAVs by the US 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 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."
The study suggests that the US will account for 77% of the
worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next
decade, and about 64% of the procurement. These US expenditures
represent higher shares of the aerospace market than for worldwide
defense spending in general, with the US accounting for about 67%
of total worldwide defense RDT&E spending and 37% of
procurement spending, according to forecasts in International
Defense Briefing, another Teal Group competitive intelligence
service.
"These discrepancies are due to the heavier US investment in
cutting-edge technologies, and the marked lag time in such research
and procurement elsewhere, especially major aerospace centers such
as Europe," said Zaloga.
Teal Group expects that the sales of UAVs will follow recent
patterns of arms procurement worldwide, with Europe representing
the second largest market and the second most significant center
for high-tech research, about 20% of the worldwide total. The
Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the principal market for UAVs
outside the US and Europe, followed by the Mid-East.
Teal Group anticipates that a civil UAV market will slowly
emerge over the next decade, starting first with government
organizations requiring surveillance systems similar to military
UAVs such as coast guards, border patrol organizations and similar
national security organizations.
"A commercial, non-governmental UAV market is unlikely to emerge
except in some niche markets, such as Japan, until the airspace
access issue is fully resolved," said Zaloga.
The fourth edition of the sector study, World Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2007, examines the
worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads, and
provides ten-year forecasts by country, region, and classes of
UAVs.
"Teal Group already covers the UAV market in its World Missiles
and UAV Briefing, which examines the UAV market on a
program-by-program basis," said Zaloga. "The sector study examines
the UAV market from a complementary perspective, namely national
requirements."
The Teal Group is an aerospace and defense market analysis firm
based in Fairfax, VA. It provides competitive intelligence to
industry and government worldwide.
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