Special Mission Aircraft Market Expected to Reach $26.5 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Special Mission Aircraft Market," The special mission aircraft market was valued at $15.3 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $26.5 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2031.

In 2021, Asia-Pacific region is dominating the market in terms of revenue, followed by Europe, North America, and LAMEA. Initiatives taken by the governments toward the modernization of defense sector and rise in adoption of unmanned vehicles for various commercial applications in the region are expected to propel the growth of the special mission aircraft market during the forecast period.

There are prominent key factors that drive the growth of the special mission aircraft market such as increase in demand for drones, rise in demand for industry-specific solutions, and rise in spending to procure defense equipment globally. The market economy is also responsible for the growth of the market. Emerging countries in the region, such as India and China, are investing heavily in aerospace and defense industry, which is expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the growth of the special mission aircraft industry.

The special mission aircraft market is segmented into application, platform, end-user and point of sale. The application segment is further divided as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), command & control, communication & navigation, and others. By platform, the market is classified into military aviation, commercial aviation, and unmanned aerial vehicle. On the basis of end-user, it is divided into defense, commercial & civil, and space. By point of sale, it is segmented into OEM, and aftermarket. By region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

• The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments across the globe to implement stringent lockdown and ban import–export of essential raw material items for most of 2020, and few months in 2021. This led to sudden decline in availability of important raw materials for aircraft components.
• As a result of interrupted supply chains and production schedules caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, aviation production and sales suffered severely, which, in turn, negatively impacted the market for special mission aircraft market.
• Moreover, overall decline in the output generation in the end use industry such as military & defense, civil & commercial, logistics & transportation, construction & mining, among others has resulted to lower demand outlook. The reduction in aerospace and defense spending has had a negative impact on special mission aircraft development and deployment plans, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Markets throughout the world, observed reduced procurement of special mission aircrafts last couple of year, and the procurement contracts are expected to grow slowly over the next few years, as governments continue to build up their defense capabilities for addressing the uncertain geopolitical tensions across different nations such as the India-China, India-Pakistan or the continued disagreement in the South China Sea, among others.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• By application, the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) segment is expected to register a significant growth during the forecast period.
• By platform, the military aviation segment is expected to register a significant growth during the forecast period.
• By end-user, the defense segment is projected to lead the global special mission aircraft market.
• By point of sale, the aftermarket segment is projected to lead the global special mission aircraft market
• Region-wise, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The key players that operate in this special mission aircraft market are BAE Systems Plc., Bombardier, Dassault Aviation, Elbit Systems Ltd., General Atomics, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI), Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., Leonardo S.p.A., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Saab AB, Textron Inc., Thales Group, and The Boeing Company.