Search, Detection, Navigation & Guidance System Manufacturing

Search, Detection, Navigation & Guidance System Manufacturing

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry make products such as aircraft instruments, flight recorders, navigational instruments, and radar and sonar systems. Major companies include FLIR and divisions of defense contractors such as Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and RTX Corporation (all based in the US), as well as Airbus Group (the Netherlands), BAE Systems (the UK), Bharat Electronics (India), Furuno Electric (Japan), and Thales (France).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand depends on discretionary consumer income, general economic conditions, and federal budgets for defense and homeland security. Large companies have advantages in purchasing power, manufacturing volume, and distribution efficiencies. Small companies compete by offering specialized products and providing subcontracting services to larger system integrators. The US industry is highly concentrated: the largest 50 firms account for about 96%.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products include search, detection, navigation, and guidance systems, which account for about 75% of the industry revenue. Other products include: aeronautics, nautical, and navigational instruments account for about 20%. Military applications include most of these products, along with radar defense systems.