Aircraft Ejection Seat Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Aircraft Ejection Seat Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Aircraft Ejection Seat Market is expected to register a CAGR of more than 3% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

In 2020, the deliveries of military aircraft decreased significantly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the supply chain of certain aircraft programs. Nevertheless, the situation improved in 2021 for several military aircraft manufacturers worldwide. On the other hand, no visible impact was noted on the orders placed by various armed forces worldwide.

The ongoing political tensions between various countries in the world are fuelling the steady growth of defense expenditure over the past few years. This has led to robust investments in the procurement of new generation military aircraft as well as upgrading the existing fleet of aircraft to strengthen their overall aerial capabilities. This factor is currently driving the growth of the associated aircraft ejection seat market.

The increase in effort on the security and safety of the pilot and other crew members in the aircraft is driving the market growth. In addition, the technological advancements in terms of materials, designs, and manufacturing processes for the ejection seats are expected to help the growth of the market during the forecast period.

The combat aircraft segment held the largest market share and is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. Combat aircraft are vital assets for the military of all countries. With the growing terror threats and political tensions among the nations, the focus has been shifted towards the modernization of the fleet by replacing aging aircraft with new advanced combat aircraft. Technology advancements in stealth and precision weapons are further forcing the countries to procure new combat aircraft since every nation wants its combat capabilities to be up-to-date. In 2021, Boeing delivered 16 F-15 aircraft (20 aircraft delivered in 2020), 21 F/A-18 aircraft (4 aircraft delivered in 2020); Lockheed Martin delivered 142 F-35 fighter jets (120 aircraft delivered in 2020), and Dassault Aviation delivered 25 Rafale jets (13 aircraft delivered in 2020). Several nations do not have fifth-generation fighters at their disposal. Hence, the development and procurement of fifth-generation fighters are expected to increase during the forecast period. For instance, in March 2022, the German government announced its plan would procure 35 F-35 fighter jets to replace its aging Tornado. The modernization of fighter jets of the military is taken in response to Russia's invasion of United Kingdomraine. Thus, the growth in the procurement of combat aircraft will propel the growth of the segment in the coming years.

North America accounted for the largest share in the aircraft ejection seat market in 2021, which is primarily due to the robust fleet modernization programs of United States. Currently, the US Department of Defense is focusing on modernizing its fighter aircraft fleet. Under the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program, the US Department of Defense (DOD) has plans to acquire more than 2,400 new generation F-35 aircraft. The F-35A is expected to replace the older F-16 and the F-15 fighter aircraft that are in service with the US. Martin-Baker supplies the Mk16 - US16E ejection seats for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. As the armed forces continues to procure the three variants of F-35s in large numbers, it is also procuring fourth-generation fighters like F-15EX and F/A 18 Super hornets to complement the fifth-generation fighter aircraft for various branches of its military. Likewise, in order to mitigate the critical shortage in aircraft pilot numbers, the US Air Force awarded Boeing Defense a contract worth USD 9.2 billion to produce 351 T-X trainer jets (T-7 Red Hawk), with deliveries expected to start during the forecast period. Such procurement programs of the armed forces in the region are anticipated to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period.

The market is highly consolidated, with only a few players. Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd (Martin-Baker), NPP Zvezda, and Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies Corporation) are the prominent players in the market. Martin-Baker is the major supplier of ejection seats to major military aircraft programs like Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, and HAL Tejas, among others. The company is also a contractor for future aircraft programs like Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-21 Boramae and Boeing T-7A Red Hawk. Players are focusing on innovative solutions for aircraft ejection seat technologies to enable improvements in ejection seat features like operability for a large weight range, better weight balance, stabilization, trajectory height of the seat in a favorable direction, and quickening the parachute activation time after the escape, etc. Manufacturers are also coming up with many new developments in the designs of aircraft ejection seats to boost the safety of pilots, thereby improving their survival rates. Such developments are expected to bolster the growth prospects for the players during the forecast period.

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