Global market for ASW sonobuoys set to grow by 40 percent over the next five years
VANCOUVER, Wash., 4 Dec. 2015. Global demand for sonobuoys for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) will increase by 40 percent over the next five years, rising from $226.11 million this year to $316.59 million by 2020, predict analysts at market researcher MarketsandMarkets in Vancouver, Wash.
Driving projected increases in the global sonobuoy market, which amounts to a combined annual growth rate of nearly 7 percent, are increasing focus by countries on strengthening their ASW capabilities, as well as technological enhancements that increase in the efficiency of sonobuoys, analysts say.
Sonobuoys typically are deployed from fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to detect the presence of submarines. Sonobuoys deploy hydrophones after hitting the water and data link passive sonar information to their host aircraft.
The study, entitled Sonobuoy Market - Global Trends and Forecasts to 2020, says passive sonobuoys dominate the sonobuoy market because of their ability to prevent submarines to detect the presence of tracking aircraft.
Defense applications will represent the largest growth in the sonobuoy market over the next five years, analysts say. The highest growth will be in the Asia-Pacific region because of increasing defense budgets in the region -- specifically due to the China Sea dispute among China, Brunei, Philippines, and Malaysia.
The six major segments of the sonobuoy market are:
-- platform, which includes active, passive, and special-purpose sonobuoys;
-- technology, which includes bathythermo buoy, search and rescue buoy, directional command activated, data link communications, directional frequency analysis and recording, low frequency analysis and recording, extended echo ranging, air deployable active receiver, and vertical line array directional frequency analysis and recording;
-- applications, which include defense and commercial;
-- size, which includes a,b,c, and others;
-- deployment type, which includes spring, pneumatic, free-fall, and cartridge; and
-- range, which includes short and long range sonobuoys.
Related: Navy Boeing P-8 maritime patrol jet to receive ASW system upgrades
The major players in the sonobuoy market are Ultra Electronics in the United Kingdom, and Sparton Corp. in the U.S.
For more information contact MarketsandMarkets online at www.marketsandmarkets.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
