New numbers on global market for UAVs

Analysts say the global unmanned aircraft market will continue to expand over the next 10 years as many nations increase spending on autonomous systems, reports Defense News.

About $81.3 billion will be spent globally on unmanned aircraft procurement, services, and research and development over the next 10 years, Derrick Maple, an analyst with HIS, is quoted as saying in the story.

“We are very much still at the early stages of the life cycle of this market,” Maple said Aug. 7 at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s annual North America Unmanned Systems conference."

The global unmanned aircraft market is about $11 billion, with the U.S. share totaling about $4.5 billion, the story said.

“We’re predicting the market to drop back in the U.S. over the next five years and then a resurgence as new programs come on stream,” Maple said.