Solar-powered UAVs: Key market research findings
- Need for surveillance and security activities spurs market growth
- The Americas dominates the market geographically
- Key vendors – AeroVironment, Airbus, Alphabet, Facebook, Lockheed Martin, and Thales
Technavio’s market research analysts predict the global solar-powered UAV market to grow at a CAGR of almost 13% between 2016 and 2020. The need for enhancing surveillance and security activities is the fundamental driving force behind the growth of this market. Military organizations are increasingly adopting solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in missions where the deployment of manned flight is considered too risky or challenging. Over the years, the role of modern military UAVs has expanded to other areas, including strike missions, suppression of enemy air defense, electronic attack, communication relay, surveillance, and search and rescue missions. During 2015, the Americas dominated the global solar-powered UAV market with a market share of more than 55%. High investments from the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA for a number of projects is expected to fuel growth in the solar-powered UAV market in the Americas during the forecast period.
The new market research report from Technavio presents a breakdown and analysis of the solar-powered UAV segments based on the application.
“Recently, there has been an increase in the deployment of UAVs in emerging countries. Enduring regional tensions coupled with the need for enhanced surveillance is expected to trigger an increase in the demand for both conventional and technologically advanced UAVs in the coming years. Campaigns and programs targeting innovation in UAVs by both government and domestic companies are also expected to contribute to the growth of the market over the next four years,” says Abhay Kumar Singh, Lead Analyst, Aerospace & Defense, Technavio Research.
By 2020, the military and defense segment is expected to continue its dominance over the global solar-powered UAV market by accounting for over 62% of the overall market revenue. Military UAVs are used for a number of operations such as disaster management, security, communications applications, search and rescue, monitoring, and attack missions. They employed for aerial reconnaissance, battlefield management, and for alerting against chemical, biological, and nuclear threats. UAVs are very effective in missions that are unsafe with manned aircraft.
The prominent vendors in the market include AeroVironment, Airbus, Alphabet, Facebook, Lockheed Martin, and Thales. The global UAV market is characterized by the dominance of a few key players. However, the new vendors are entering the market with a wide range of economic solar-powered UAVs, which is posing a threat to the existing vendors in the market. Over the years, the possibility of significant structural and competitive changes is expected to encourage the use of small solar-powered UAVs. Several vendors are adopting M&A strategies to enhance their product portfolios. To survive and prosper in such an intensely competitive environment, the existing vendors should offer optimum UAV solutions to address the changing demands of modern warfare.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global Solar-powered UAV Market 2016-2020.
We can customize reports by other regions and specific segments upon request.
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