WASHINGTON, D.C., 15 April 2008. The global war on terrorism has prompted the United States to pump significant amounts of money into its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, asserts Forecast International analyst Larry Dickerson.
Dickerson says the market for UAV Reconnaissance Systems, including air vehicles, ground control equipment, and payloads, is expected to be worth $13.6 billion through 2014.
"Although the popularity of UAVs continues to grow worldwide, the United States is by far the largest single market," says Dickerson. "American firms have a value share of more than 50 percent of this market and could gain control of a further 5 to 10 percent over the next decade."
The dominance of these American companies can be attributed in part to the large U.S. requirement and the high cost of certain systems it is currently acquiring such as the RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV.
"The value of Global Hawk production over the next 10 years could reach $3.5 billion," Dickerson says. Northrop Grumman believes that sales of the Global Hawk air vehicles could exceed 200 units.