WASHINGTON, 20 Feb. 2009.Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) continue to be the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry, analysts report in the Teal Group's latest integrated market analysis.
Teal Group's 2009 market study estimates that UAV spending will nearly double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $4.4 billion annually to $8.7 billion within a decade, totaling just over $62 billion in the next 10 years.
The study suggests that the U.S. will account for 72 percent of the worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 61 percent 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, followed very closely by Asia-Pacific," says senior analyst Steve Zaloga, one of the authors of the new, 364-page study. "Indeed, the Asia-Pacific region may outpace Europe in UAV development."
The sixth edition of the sector study, "World Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2009," examines the worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads, and provides 10-year forecasts by country, region, and class of UAVs.
The 2009 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 more than $2 billion in Fiscal Year 2009 and forecast to increase to nearly $5 billion in Fiscal Year 2018. The UAV electronics market will grow steadily, with especially fast growth and opportunities in SAR and SIGINT/EW.
"The payload portion of the 2009 study includes many new systems and system types, with expanded forecasts of the exploding SAR and SIGINT/EW markets," says Dr. David Rockwell, second author of the new UAV study. "Few now question the U.S. Air Force's claim that ISR is 'the centerpiece of our global war on terrorism', and while production ramps up for major endurance UAV systems such as the APY-8 Lynx, MP-RTIP, and ASIP, new RDT&E efforts will bring large-aircraft capabilities to smaller and smaller UAVs; tactical and mini/micro/nano-UAVs will offer some of the best electronics opportunities over the next decade."
The 2009 study also includes a UAV Manufacturers Market Overview that reflects the worldwide UAV market "as one of the hottest areas of growth for defense and aerospace companies," reveals Philip Finnegan, third author of the new Teal Group UAV study.
"Teal Group analysts already cover the UAV market in their World Missiles and UAV Briefing, which examines the UAV market on a program-by-program basis," continues Zaloga. "The sector study examines the UAV market from a complementary perspective, namely national requirements, and includes both a comprehensive analysis of UAV system payloads and key UAV manufacturers."
The Teal Group is an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Va., that provides competitive intelligence to industry and government worldwide.
