[SatNews] Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry this decade.

This is the realization by Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis. Teal Group's 2011 market study estimates that UAV spending will almost double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $5.9 billion annually to $11.3 billion, totaling just over $94 billion in the next ten years. "The UAV market will continue to be strong despite cuts in defense spending," said Philip Finnegan, Teal Group's director of corporate analysis and an author of the study. "UAVs have proved their value in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be a high priority for militaries in the United States and worldwide."

The study suggests that the US will account for 77 percent of the worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 69% of the procurement. "We expect that the sales of UAVs will follow recent patterns of high-tech arms procurement worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific representing the second largest market, followed very closely by Europe," said Teal Group senior analyst Steve Zaloga, another author of the 458-page study. "Africa and Latin America are expected to continue to be very modest markets for UAVs." The eighth edition of the sector study, World Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2011, examines the worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads and companies, and provides ten-year forecasts by country, region, and classes of UAVs. Teal Group analysts already cover the UAV market in their World Missiles and UAV Briefing, which examines the UAV market on a program-by-program basis. The sector study examines the UAV market from a complementary perspective, namely national requirements, and includes a comprehensive analysis of UAV system payloads and key UAV manufacturers.

The 2011 study provides 10-year funding and production forecasts for a wide range of UAV payloads, including Electro-Optic/Infrared Sensors (EO/IR), Synthetic Aperture Radars (SARs), SIGINT and EW Systems, C4I Systems, and CBRN Sensors, worth $2.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2011 and forecast to increase to $5.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2020. The UAV electronics market will grow steadily, with especially fast growth and opportunities continuing in SAR and SIGINT/EW, according to Dr. David Rockwell, third author of the new study.

The study also includes a UAV Manufacturers Market Overview that reflects the worldwide UAV market "continuing as one of the prime areas of growth for defense and aerospace companies," said Finnegan. The new study reflects the rapid growth of interest in the UAV business by increasing the number of companies covered to some 35 US, European and Israeli companies, and reveals the fundamental reshaping of the industrial environment. The Teal Group is an aerospace and defense market analysis firm based in Fairfax, Virginia, USA, and provides competitive intelligence to industry and government worldwide.