Global Defense Drone Market Is Anticipated to Generate a Revenue of $16,902.0 Million, Growing at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2021 to 2028

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The global defense drone market forecast to be valued at $16,902.0 million by 2028, surging from $9,314.9 million in 2020, at a noteworthy CAGR of 7.9%.

Analysis of Covid-19 Impact on Defense Drone Market

The Covid-19 impact on defense drone market demand has been negative. The restrain in the global industrial production due to imposed lockdowns across the globe has disturbed supply chain defense equipment manufacturing industry hindering the growth of defense drone market. Major companies in this sector such as Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and others have experienced a reduction in demand in the defense drone market. These factors are expected to negatively impact the market growth.

The coronavirus epidemic has enforced the companies in the defense drone industry for the adoption of new methods of operation such as implementation of predictive analytics to forecast losses accurately and virtual monitoring of the production. These developments are anticipated to aid in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic the segment of the global defense drone market growth.

Global Defense Drone Market Analysis

The increasing threat of terrorist activities is expected to aid the growth of global defense drone market share in the forecast period. As per the “Global Terrorism Index” report, 2020 published by the "Institute for Economics and Peace”, a global think tank headquartered in Sydney, Australia, the total number of deaths from terrorism in 2019, were around 13,826 globally and the global economic impact of terrorism was estimated to be US $26.4 billion in 2019. The data mentioned above reflects the adverse impact of terrorism on the global population and the economy, aiding the need for implementation of security measures across the world. The utilization of defense drones for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat operations can reduce the loss of human lives in armed forces which is anticipated to aid the growth of the market.

However, the complex nature of technology involved in the defense drones, which requires highly skilled workforce with majority of its manufacturers in the developed countries can act as a barrier in the transfer of technology in the developing and underdeveloped regions. These factors are expected to hamper the growth of this market.

The defense drone trends such as new innovations in the field of defense avionics are expected to expand the defense drone market size. For instance, in in July 2021, US based major drone manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), launched a missile-armed new unmanned combat drone. The drone is being developed as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programme called LongShot. It includes major defense companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman as industry partners as well. These new developments are anticipated to open new scope of opportunities for the global defense drone market in unmanned warfare domain.

Global Defense Drone Market, Segmentation

The global defense drone market is segmented based on product type, payload, application, range, and region.

Product Type:

The product type segment is further classified into fixed-wing systems, multirotor systems, and others. Among these, the multirotor systems sub-segment is expected to be the fastest and surpass $6,869.4 million by 2028, with an increase from $3,722.4 million in 2020.

The increased emphasis on research and development has led to major developments in the field of defense drones. For instance, in February 2021, the European Commission selected the European Detect and Avoid System (EUDAAS) consortium, with Swedish aerospace and defense company “Saab” as leading partner. The development and detection capability of large military remotely-piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) will be carried out within the “European Defense Industrial Development Programme”. Developments like these are expected to positively impact the growth of this sub-segment

Payload:

The payload segment is further classified into small drones, medium drones, and large drones. Among these, small drones sub-segment is anticipated to dominate in the forecast period and surpass $7,901.2 million by 2028, with an increase from $4,376.1 million in 2020.

The effectiveness in surveillance and combat operations at a small scale is expected to aid the growth of small drone’s sub-segment. In recent developments, for instance, in September 2021, the Indian army, signed a pact of over 100 ‘Explosive-Laden Drones’, that will be manufactured by Bengaluru-based firm, Alpha Design-led joint venture (JV) along with Israel’s Elbit Security Systems (ELSEC). The ‘SkyStriker’ drones have a range of about 100km and they are built to operate beyond the line-of-sight ground targets. The contract is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore. These factors are expected to contribute to the growth of this sub-segment in the forecast period.

Application:

Based on application, the market has been sub-segmented into intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance, & target acquisition (ISRT), combat operations, and others. The combat operations sub-segment is projected to be the fastest growing in the global market and register a revenue of $6,556.2 million during the forecast timeframe of 2021-2028.

The increasing utilization of defense drones combat drones for the target identification and threat elimination is expected to aid the growth of this market. in May 2020, American defense manufacturing company, Boeing, launched “Loyal Wingman” combat drone for the Royal Australian Air Force for improvement in the combat capabilities. The drone is semi-autonomous, which means that fighter pilots will not have to remotely control the maneuvers of the drone. These aspects are expected to aid in the growth of the combat drones sub-segment during the forecast period.

Range:

Based on range, the market has been sub-segmented into short range, medium range, and high range. The medium range sub-segment is projected to be the fastest growing in the global market and register a revenue of $6,039.6 million during the forecast timeframe of 2021-2028.

The ability to operate longer range surveillance and combat operations is expected to aid the growth of medium range sub-segment in the forecast period. In new developments, for instance, in February 2021, U. S based, AeroVironment, Inc unmanned aircraft systems, announced it had completed its acquisition of Arcturus UAV, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The size of the transaction is approximately $405 million. The acquisition has aided the expansion of medium range defense drones to AeroVironment’s portfolio. These aspects are expected to aid in the growth of the medium range sub-segment during the forecast period.

Region:

The defense drone market forecast for the North America region generated a revenue of $3,319.8 million in 2020 and is further projected to reach up to $5,890.3 million by 2028. The North America region is expected to be the dominating region for the defense drone market in the forecast period.

The North American region is the hub of most developed and established framework of national security in the world. The major countries in the North America region such as the USA and Canada are having a high expenditure for the internal security of their countries. For instance, the US security expenditure reached to an estimated $778 billion in 2020, highest in the world as per the "Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). These factors are expected to aid the growth of the defense drone market in the North America region.

Top 10 Major Key Players in the Global Defense Drone Market are -

1. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
2. Northrop Grumman Corporation,
3. Lockheed Martin Corporation
4. Elbit Systems Ltd.,
5. Textron Systems,
6. AeroVironment, Inc.
7. Thales Group
8. Boeing
9. Israel aerospace industries ltd
10. SAAB Group

Along with the company profiles of the key players in the market, the report includes the Porter’s five forces model that gives deep insights into the competitive environment of the market.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis for the Global Defense Drone Market:

• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: There are moderate number of suppliers in the defense drone market. Across the world there are different organizations working in the field of defense drone for production of defense products such as military drones, unmanned combat aerial vehicle, defense uav, anti uav defense system, uav defence as well as uav defense system to get a competitive edge in the market.
  Thus, the bargaining power suppliers is moderate.
• Bargaining Power of Buyers: The buyers in market have moderate bargaining power, therefore the suppliers in the defense drone market focus on providing superior quality services in a cost-effective manner.
  Thus, the bargaining power of the buyers is moderate.
• Threat of New Entrants: The companies that are entering in the defense drone market emphasize on innovation for reducing the cost of production since the capital requirement in defense drone market is already high. 
  Thus, the threat of the new entrants is low.
• Threat of Substitutes: The defense drone process is essential and currently there is no alternative of defense drone measures.
  Thus, the threat of substitutes is low.
• Competitive Rivalry in the Market: There is a highly competitive rivalry between companies in the defense drone market including Thales Group and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
  Therefore, competitive rivalry in the market is high.