Teal Group Predicts 2015 UAV Production Will Total $93B

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Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) continue as the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry this decade, report Teal analysts in their latest market analysis. New unmanned combat aerial vehicle programs, commercial, and consumer spending all promise to drive more than a tripling of the market over the next decade.

Teal Group's 2015 market study estimates that UAV production will soar from current worldwide UAV production of $4 billion annually to $14 billion, totaling $93 billion in the next ten years.  Military UAV research spending would add another $30 billion over the decade.

"The market for UAVs looks very strong, increasingly driven by new technologies such as the next generation of unmanned combat systems, and the development of new markets such as civil and consumer drones," said Philip Finnegan, Teal Group's director of corporate analysis and an author of the study.

This year's study includes consumer UAVs for the first time because of their rapid growth and the blurring of the commercial and consumer markets. "Consumer UAVs are showing that they can do many of the easier commercial missions such as simple real estate photography," Finnegan said.

Civil UAV Market

"Our coverage of the civil UAV market continues to grow with each annual report, mirroring the increase in the civil market itself," said Finnegan.  "Our 2015 UAV study calculates the UAV market at 72% military, 23% consumer, 5% civil cumulative for the decade." Of the three areas, civil UAVs grow most rapidly over the forecast period as airspace around the world is opened, but it grows from a very low base.

"The Teal Group study predicts that the US will account for 64% of total military worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 38% of the military procurement," said Teal Group senior analyst Steve Zaloga, another author of the study.  The larger, higher value systems procured by the United States help drive the relative strength of the US market over the decade.

The 12th edition of the sector study, World Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2015, examines the worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads and companies, and provides ten-year forecasts by country, region, and classes of UAVs.

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. Sensor payloads are also treated in Teal's Military Electronics Briefing. The sector study examines the UAV market from a complementary perspective, namely national requirements, and includes both a comprehensive analysis of UAV system payloads (authored by Dr. David Rockwell) and key UAV manufacturers (authored by Phil Finnegan).

The 2015 edition includes UAV market forecast spreadsheets, permitting data manipulation and offering a powerful strategic planning mechanism.

The Teal Group is an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Virginia USA.  It provides competitive intelligence to industry and government worldwide.