Teal Group's 2009 market study estimates that UAV spending will almost double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $4.4 billion annually to $8.7 billion within a decade, totaling just over $62 billion in the next ten years. The study suggests the US. will account for 72 percent of the worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 61 percent of the procurement. The sixth edition of the sector study, World Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2009, examines the worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads, and provides ten-year forecasts by country, region, and classes of UAVs.
The 2009 study also provides 10-year funding and production forecasts for a wide range of UAV payloads, including Electro-Optic/Infrared Sensors, Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs), SIGINT and EW Systems, C4I Systems, and CBRN Sensors, worth more than $2 billion in Fiscal Year 2009 and forecast to increase to nearly $5 billion in Fiscal Year 2018. The UAV electronics market will grow steadily, with especially fast growth and opportunities in SAR and SIGINT/EW. The study also includes a UAV Manufacturers Market Overview that reflects the worldwide UAV market. The Teal Group is an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, and provides competitive intelligence to industry and government worldwide.