Forecast Int'l: New Tech Drives $50B Radar Industry
November 23, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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Forecast International issued a study projecting that the worldwide radar market will be worth $50 billion over the next 10 years.
The study, entitled The Market for Radar Systems, is based on a review of 107 radar production, operations & maintenance and research, development, test & evaluation (RDT&E) programs.
Overall, 11,306 individual radar units will be produced during the 2007-2016 time frame. New technology is an important driver of the market, according to the study.
According to William Ostrove, electronics analyst and author of the study, "The expanding availability of technology is increasing the appeal of many radar systems that were previously available only to the largest and best equipped militaries."
One example of this trend is the growth of the airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) market, according to the study.
Radar systems that take advantage of the latest technology to provide good performance at a low cost include the Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar, Erieye and EL/M-2075 Phalcon, according to the study.
The marketplace is also being driven by the growth of active electronically scanned array (AESA) technology, according to the study.
AESA increased the overall capability of radar systems allowing them to provide increased situational awareness to warfighters, according to the study. As AESA radars leave the drawing board and enter production, they become more desirable.
Ostrove said that even though mechanical array radars still make up the bulk of radar production, the more expensive AESA radars are nearly identical to mechanical array radars in terms of value of production.
AESA radar programs, such as the APG-81, will account for a growing percentage of radar production and funding over the next 10 years, according to the study.
The report said that the growth of asymmetric forces, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq, is another factor contributing to change in the radar industry.
"The two primary concerns of military planners have become mobility and the ability to operate close to the enemy and in urban areas," said Ostrove. Accordingly, the latest radars can handle multiple tasks sometimes replacing several types of older radar systems.
Companies such as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman top Forecast International's list of top five radar producers, according to the study.
At the same time, growing numbers of consortiums are appearing on the list. These include AGS Industries, an international consortium formed to develop the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) system; MEADS International, developer of an air defense weapons system for the U.S., Germany and Italy; and Euroradar, which develops and produces the ECR-90 CAPTOR for the Typhoon.
Source: Forecast International.