Global Military Drone Market Report and Forecast 2024-2032

Global Military Drone Market Outlook

The global military drone market size reached a value of around USD 14.22 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% between 2024 and 2032, reaching a value of USD 32.20 billion by 2032.

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Key Trends in the Market

Military drones refer to unmanned aircrafts or drones that are used for military purposes. They can be used to carry out a variety of tasks, such as surveillance, intelligence gathering, remote sensing, and combat. Military drones are considered to be a modern force multiplier that can increase the capacity of security forces to identify fresh threats for national defence and homeland security. They can conduct reconnaissance operations, act as border guards, and identify high-risk areas in remote locations. 

• The global defence industry is heavily focused on remote surveillance, border security, thermographic inspection, infrastructure protection, law enforcement, and firefighting, all of which require technologically cutting-edge techniques and equipment. As a result, the demand for military drones has been rising quickly, which will likely lead to significant military drone market expansion throughout the forecast period.

• Drones are being gradually adopted by a large number of new international military organisations for combat operations, law enforcement, and border protection. The growing demand for advanced military drones due to their cost effectiveness in comparison to manned aircraft and their increasing integration into ongoing warfare systems to deal with combat threats is also helping the military drones market grow.

• The expansion of the global market is being fuelled by the increase in military spending along with the rising demand for enhanced surveillance systems and defence modernisation. To strengthen the effectiveness of military operations, spending by various governments on military drones is soaring, which is anticipated to stimulate demand and expand the production of military drones. thereby fuelling the expansion of the global market.

Opportunities and Challenges in the Market

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in military drones is expected to significantly change the military drone market on a global scale, offering extensive opportunities to the market. In-depth research is being done by many vendors, who are producing drones equipped with a variety of autonomous tools supported by machine learning (ML) and AI capabilities. These developments could represent a significant market opportunity for the global military drone market in the years to come. These drones will be equipped with a variety of electronic warfare capabilities and be used in numerous military applications as a result.

Some of the major challenges that prevent the widespread use of military drones are privacy concerns, social challenges, and safety and security of the drones. Additionally, a lack of technical know-how on how to deploy these drones could potentially be a significant hurdle for market expansion.

Global Military Drone Market Analysis

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Based on product, the market can be segmented into fixed wing, hybrid, and rotary wing. The market on the basis of technology can be divided into remotely operated drones, semi-autonomous drones, and autonomous drones. On the basis of range, the market is categorised into visual line of sight (VLOS), extended visual line of sight (EVLOS), and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), among others. Based on system, the military drone market is divided into airframe, avionics, propulsion, payloads, and software, among others. Propulsion is further divided into electric propulsion engine, turboprop engine, and turboshaft engine while payloads are sub-divided into cameras, CBRN sensors, EOIR payload, radar, and LiDAR, among others. 

On the basis of application, the market can be classified into intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (ISRT), combat operations, battle damage management, and logistics and transportation, among others. The regional markets for military drones can be divided into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. 

The comprehensive EMR report provides an in-depth assessment of the market based on the Porter's five forces model along with giving a SWOT analysis. The report gives a detailed analysis of the following key players in the global military drone market, covering their competitive landscape and latest developments like mergers, acquisitions, investments, and expansion plans. 

• Saab AB

• General Atomics

• Lockheed Martin Corporation

• Trexton Inc.

• Elbit Systems Ltd

• Thales Group

• BAE Systems Plc

• Northrop Grumman Company

• AeroVironment Inc.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd

• Others

Market Share by Product

The fixed wing segment is anticipated to have a significant market share over the forecast period due to their superior support for payloads, increased endurance ranges, and versatile applications. Like an aeroplane, fixed-wing drones take off from the ground by using their wings, due to which fixed-wing UAVs can travel farther than rotor-wing drones. A key advantage of fixed-wing aircrafts is their ability to cover large distances on a single battery, which makes them ideal for monitoring and surveillance activities, thus increasing their military drone market share. In the event of complete failure, military drones with fixed wings can still fly and land safely. Due to their superior aerodynamics, fixed-wing formats are used for the most advanced and powerful unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Market Share by Range

During the forecast period, the visual line of sight (VLOS) segment is anticipated to develop at a fast rate due to the rise in the use of VLOS military drones by various governments in applications including traffic monitoring, firefighting, and disaster management. Authorities are putting in place various VLOS regulations, to manage drones used for commercial, leisure, or military purposes. 

However, in the coming years, the beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) range of military drones is also expected to witness rapid growth. This can be attributed to the rising acceptance of drones that fly beyond visual line of sight as they boost productivity and speed up data collection.

Market Share by Region

North America has held a significant share in the military drone market, led by countries such as the United States, which have large defence budgets as sizable military budgets support the incorporation of cutting-edge technological advancements. The growing need to strengthen national security by acquiring technologically cutting-edge equipment like military drones for surveillance, monitoring, transportation, and combat operations, is driving the market for military drones in North America. Additionally, the market will likely expand further due to favourable rules by governments in the region and the increase in production of military drones internationally and domestically.

Meanwhile, Asia Pacific is projected to experience significant expansion and a fast CAGR in the military drone market over the forecast period. This can be attributed to the increased spending by several countries on their militaries to strengthen their defensive capacities. The demand for military drones is expected to increase as border conflicts become more prevalent and countries invest in real-time surveillance drones in order to enhance border patrolling and situational awareness. 

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Competitive Landscape

Saab AB is a leading military and security business that was founded in 1937 with its headquarters in Sweden. It operates in the aerospace, aviation, and defence sectors, with its offerings comprising of aircrafts, missiles, electronics, and computers, among others. The company develops, produces, and supports cutting-edge technologies for aviation, weaponry, command and control, sensors, and underwater systems.

General Atomics, a defence and diversified technologies firm based in California in the United States, was created in 1955 as a division of General Dynamics and was acquired by the Blue family in 1986. The business creates cutting-edge technological solutions for use in both public and private sectors, including a range of unmanned aircrafts and signals intelligence, optical, radar, and automated airborne surveillance systems. 

Lockheed Martin Corporation, headquartered in Maryland in the United States, is a multinational security and aerospace firm with a focus on aerospace products, such as aeroplanes, satellites, launchers for outer space, and defence systems, as well as other high-tech equipment and services. The company's primary business activities include research, manufacture, integration, design, development, and maintenance of sophisticated technology systems, products, and services.

Other market players include Trexton Inc., Elbit Systems Ltd, Thales Group, BAE Systems Plc, Northrop Grumman Company, AeroVironment Inc., and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, among others.

Key Highlights of the Report