Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
NEARLY 8,000 unmanned air-vehicles (UAVs), worth $3.9 billion, will be produced worldwide between 1994 and 2003. The reconnaissance market is expected to double in size over the ten-year period, according to the Teal Group's UAV annual forecast.
The forecast, released at the 1995 unmanned-systems show organised by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems in Washington DC, estimates that 5,250 target drones worth $1.3 billion and 2,650 reconnaissance systems worth $2.6 billion will be procured during the decade. The estimate does not consider the cost of related hardware such as ground-control stations. It only covers air-vehicle costs, which constitute as little as 15% of many UAV systems.
The Teal Group study shows the total UAV market dropping slightly this year, then rising steadily to a peak in the year 2000, then dropping again with another rise in 2003, the end of the forecast period.
The target-drone market is seen as relatively flat, yet stable. The only major growth area is new systems aimed at simulating supersonic anti-ship missiles.
Source: Flight International
