Scott Nicholas
Susan Eustis, lead author of the “Military Drones: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts Worldwide, 2016 to 2022” report, has said the global market for military drones will increase to $8.6 billion by 2022 from $4.4 billion recorded in 2015, Inside Unmanned Systems reported Monday.
Eustis told the publication the U.S. accounts for 73 percent of the worldwide spending on research, development, testing and evaluation of drone technologies and China has began to invest in unmanned platforms.
“The market for military drones is further evolving worldwide as every country seeks to equip its military with drones and drone-borne weapons,†said Eustis.
The report noted that the U.S. military has allocated $4.5 billion on drone-related spending in its fiscal year 2017 budget proposal, while the U.S. accounts for 84 percent of the world’s procurement of large drones.
General Atomics lead the military drone market with a 19.9 percent market share in 2015 as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and China Aerospace respectively covered 15.4, 11.5, 10.1 and 7.6 percent.
Eustis also said that technology sophistication and reduced costs lead to market shifts and the development of military drones, that represent the future of national security presence, will contribute to the growth of the market.
