US DoD Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growth Opportunities

US DoD Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Growth Opportunities

This Frost & Sullivan research service focuses on the US military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) market. The base year for spending information is 2021, and example market participants and market size estimates for the years 2021 to 2025 are provided. This study discusses market participants, customers, and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies that influence the industry. The main UAV platform types are outlined by their design and manufacturer. Also included are insights on the software and services essential to the DoD UAV market. In addition, market applications, growth opportunities, industry participants, technology trends, and market drivers and restraints are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic response has impacted supply chains on one hand, and on the other has highlighted many applications for commercial UAV in a way that will heavily impact the defense UAV sector during forecast period. The DoD and US armed forces’ increasingly demand advances in military UAV platforms and technologies, particularly in data processing software and artificial intelligence (AI), which drives the market. In turn, market competition is higher than ever—from traditional leading defense OEMs to small and medium-sized players. These competitors offer new technologies and venues to the DoD, which is constantly seeking innovative, low-cost solutions amid growing threats from China, Russia, and aerial terrorism. However, global and domestic regulations burden foreign players’ ability to compete in the US market and hinder the export scale for US military UAV that is subject to Biden administration policy with regard to Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and other legal regulations.

This research service also analyzes current trends and future concepts that shed light on estimated spending, technologies, and the fastest application areas for market growth aligned with the newest and current US military UAV market developments. The goal of the study is to help firms identify growth opportunities and formulate go-to-market strategies that can improve competitive and vibrant market share. This research was obtained from secondary and primary sources and combines quantitative and qualitative information. Information has been garnered from existing reports and project material within the Frost & Sullivan database, including data from technical papers, specialized and reliable publications, seminars, and internal data. Senior consultants/industry analysts have conducted interviews with original equipment suppliers, services providers, distributors, customers, and government authorities. Primary research accounts for approximately 25% of the total research.


  • Strategic Imperatives
    • Why is it Increasingly Difficult to Grow?
    • The Strategic Imperative 8™
    • The Impact of the Top Three Strategic Imperatives on Department of Defense (DoD) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market
    • Growth Opportunities Fuel the Growth Pipeline Engine™
  • What You Need to Know First
    • Trends
    • Challenges
  • Market Analysis
    • Scope of Analysis
    • US DoD UAV Market Segmentation
    • Key Competitors in the US DoD UAV Market
    • Leading DoD UAV Platforms by Category
    • Current Leading Technology Trend for DoD UAV Domain
    • Market Definitions
    • Growth Metrics
    • Market Drivers
    • Growth Driver Analysis
    • Market Restraints
    • Growth Restraint Analysis
    • Spending Forecast
      • Table DoD UAV Market: Spending Forecast, US, 2020–2025
    • Spending Forecast Analysis and Contracting Trends
    • Contract Values
    • Top 5 Contractors in 2021
    • Contract Analysis
    • Procurement Program Funding by Department
    • RDT&E Program Funding by Department
    • DoD UAV Contracts by Department
    • DoD UAV Contracts by Category
    • DoD UAV Contracts by Segment
    • DoD UAV Contracts by Platform
    • Contracts Market Share by Department (Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps)
    • Top DoD UAV Programs
    • Top DoD RDT&E UAV Programs
    • Other Leading DoD UAV Multi-year Programs (partial list)
    • Leading DoD Procurement & Services UAV Contracts
    • Leading DoD RDT&E UAV Contracts
  • Growth Opportunity Universe—US DoD UAV
    • Growth Opportunity 1: Development of Autonomous Systems
    • Growth Opportunity 2: Low-cost and Medium-capability Military UAV Solutions
    • Growth Opportunity 3: Autonomy and Swarming
    • Growth Opportunity 3: AI for New UAV Operational Concepts
    • Growth Opportunity 4: Manned-Unmanned Teaming to Integrate UAV Platform into the Multi-domain Operations Concept
    • Growth Opportunity 5: Expansion of UAV Industry into the Energy Industry as Renewable Sources Increase
    • Growth Opportunity 6: Growing C4ISR Demands as Game-changer for Enhanced Operational UAV Effectiveness
    • Growth Opportunity 7: Growing Demand for UAV Training and Simulation to Mitigate USAF's Pilot Recruitment Challenge
    • Growth Opportunity 8: Cybersecurity Solutions a Must to Counter UAV Intelligence Threats
  • Conclusions
    • Conclusions and Future Outlook
  • Next Steps
    • Your Next Steps
    • Why Frost, Why Now?
  • Appendix
    • NATO Military UAV Classification
    • List of Abbreviations

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