Overview:
Drones, also referred to as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), are aircraft systems that are capable of operating without any human pilot aboard. Any aerial vehicle, without human pilot aboard, that is operated through remote control/station is referred to as drone. Drones are available in various sizes and configurations and hence can be used across an array of applications in the defense sector. These are capable of hovering over a given region covering larger surface area, making them preferred over other platforms. Drones can be categorized based on their operating altitude/class. Drones are capable of flying at altitudes ranging from a few hundred meters to over 30,000 feet from the surface of the Earth. Another major type of drone (high altitude long endurance) is designed to operate at altitudes ranging above 50,000 feet from the Earth’s surface.
Military drones can be referred to UAVs used and designed specifically for defense applications. Typical applications of military drones include surveillance, communication relay, synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence, electronic warfare, weapons and others. This makes drones highly useful for the defense sector. The military drones market is highly driven by the rising expenditure over defense sector across the world. Major spending countries over military drones include the U.S., China and Israel. Due to anticipated increase in expenditure in the coming years, the demand for military purpose drones is estimated to remain strong worldwide. Nevertheless, major factor hampering the market is high initial costs, especially in the case of strategic (medium and high altitude) drones.
The global military drones market is segmented on the following bases:
1. Type
a. Small (Upto 5,000 feet)
b. Tactical (5,000 feet to 18,000 feet)
c. Medium Altitude Long Endurance (18,000 feet to 30,000 feet)
d. Strategic (High Altitude) (Above 45,000 feet)
2. Payload
a. Surveillance Radar
b. Electro-optics
c. Electronic Intelligence
d. Communication Relays
e. Navigation Systems
f. Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR)
g. Weapons
h. Others
3. Subsystem
i. Ground Control System
j. Data Links
k. Software
l. Flight Training and Simulation
4. Geography
a. North America
i. U.S.
ii. Canada
b. Europe
i. U.K.
ii. Germany
iii. CIS Countries
iv. Rest of Europe
c. Asia-Pacific
i. Japan
ii. China
iii. South Asia
iv. Australasia
v. Rest of Asia Pacific
d. Middle East & Africa
i. GCC Countries
ii. North Africa
iii. South Africa
iv. Rest of MEA
e. Latin America
i. Brazil
ii. Mexico
iii. Rest of Latin America
Key Players Identified for Military Drones Market Include but are Not Limited to:
Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Boeing Company, Safran SA, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., AeroVironment, Inc., Thales Group, BAE Systems Plc., Airbus Defence and Space and others
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