Emergency Location Transmitter Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Emergency Location Transmitter Market was valued at USD 149.74 million in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 194.82 million by 2026 and grow at a CAGR of 4.5% over the forecast period (2021-2026). The growth of ELTs was primarily driven by various regulations introduced around the world. Countries like the United States, France, and the United Kingdom were among the first ones to make the installation of ELTs mandatory in several aviation and transportation practices. The globally accepted frequency for ELTs has been set to 406 MHz since 2009. Most countries shifted to this frequency in the early years, but a large part of the developing countries and countries with low penetration of ELT devices still lack such concepts. Reportedly, Mexico was the last country to shift to 406 MHz in December 2018.

Key Highlights

• The most significant impact of ELTs is noticed in the rescue operations conducted worldwide. Earlier, it used to take hours to get notified of any incident and the rescue operators had to sweep the suspected area manually, consuming critical time required to attend to the victims. Various regulatory authorities now mandate it in different countries for planes flying in their airspace to be equipped with ELTs for safety purposes. The major aircraft that use these devices include lightweight aircraft, passenger aircraft, and defense aircraft, which constitute a major portion of the world’s active air fleet.
• The market for ELTs witnessed a shift from 121.5 MHz ELTs to 406 MHz. For instance, in April 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) elected to stay a proposed rule that mandated the replacement of 121.5 MHz emergency locator transmitters (ELTs) with 406 MHz ELTs. On March 29, the FCC published a final rule that indefinitely stays its original order regarding ELTs. Such regulations have supported the adoption of 406 MHz ELTs over 121.5 MHz.
• Furthermore, the regular maintenance activities include changing the battery, calibrating the GPS, and inspecting for damages caused by wear and tear factors. If not maintained appropriately, the ELT may not get triggered during an incident or may send false alarms, which attracts enormous fines. Operators tend to replace their ELTs after a specific duration to avoid such events, which is driving the demand for more robust and reliable ELTs.
• ELTs are a minimal component in an aircraft, enabling great safety features. Owing to the benefits offered by this technology, there is a continuous innovation in this domain to make ELTs more compact and highly reliable. Companies, like Orolia, are continually bringing new solutions to the market. Recently, two new next-gen ELTs were launched at the Paris Air Show held in June 2019. Similarly, the marine industry benefited immensely from ELTs. Applications making use of ELTs include offshore oil rigs, cargo vessels, fishing vessels, and other special-purpose recreation boats.
• The ELTs pose significant challenges, such as the inadvertent activation of ELT systems is a serious problem that expends resources and can divert equipment and manpower away from real emergencies. Furthermore, high false alarm rates can desensitize response teams, as they may think the event is not real. While all ELT activations trigger a response from emergency response teams, only a small fraction are real emergencies. Such instances are anticipated to impact the market.

Key Market Trends

Aerospace Vertical to Have a Major Market Share

• The ELTs are used widely in the aerospace industry for their high reliability and efficiency. The ELT products can automatically transmit signals to the nearby rescue stations at the time of emergencies. Moreover, in 2008, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) imposed a new rule to install a minimum of one emergency location transmitter in all types of aircraft operating internationally.
• Given the estimated worldwide air traffic of about 39,000,000 flights, the accident rate is one fatal accident per almost two million flights. Reflecting on this accident rate, the Aviation Safety Network stated that the level of safety increased significantly. According to the network, if the accident rate had remained the same as 10 years ago, there may have been 34 fatal accidents last year, and at the accident rate of the year 2000, there may even have been 65 fatal accidents.
• The increasing traffic in the commercial aviation industry drives the market growth for emergency location transmitters across the world. Currently, most aviation organizations are looking for 406 MHz ELTs for higher reliability at the time of emergencies. For instance, AOPA supports the installation of advanced(406 MHz ETLs) voluntarily. They also support the awareness of pilots and aircraft owners about the limit of 121.5/243 MHz ELTs and the benefits of 406 MHz units.
• Major vendors in this market are also focusing on 406MHz ELTs due to the efficiency of the 406 MHz frequency, searchers can respond more quickly in the event of an alert. Another significant benefit of the 406 MHz ELT is that it can transmit coded digital information about the aircraft and its owner. For instance, in 2019, Astonics Corporation launched an upgraded version of the emergency locator transmitter (SRB 406G- S type ELT) for aircraft life rafts. It incorporated with GPS locator technology, which can provide satellite-based position assistance during search and rescue operations.
• In 2019, Orolia launched Kannad Ultima-S ELT for commercial aircraft. This ELTs can be installed at the commercial aircraft cabin and notify the crew about the status of a search and rescue operation by its Return Link Service. Moreover, this product is also capable of transmitting 406MHz at the time of emergencies. Furthermore, the company has also provided Survival ELTs to India’s SpiceJet industry. Its survival ELTs can send the signal of 406, 243, and 121.5 MHz and can provide distress signals during emergencies.
• Moreover, major vendors in this industry are continuously improving their technologies to adapt to the recent changes in technologies around the world. For instance, in 2020, Honeywell plans to develop a fully-retrofittable solution with the help of emergency locator transmitter hardware and an updated version of the EGPWS MK V-A. This solution can automatically trigger signals at the time of distress situations.

North America to Hold the Largest Market Share

• North America is expected to dominate the market studied during the forecast period, owing to the prominence of the US aviation network among all the regions. The various aspects attributed to the growth in aviation in this region were the undeveloped public transport systems, difficult terrains, high average household income, and low crude oil prices.
• North America has adapted to several aviation requirements in the past few years, which is evident from the emergence of general aviation in this region. General aviation is all civilian flying except scheduled passenger airline service.
• The United States alone has around 780 towered locations to carry out aviation-based operations. Additionally, 90% of 220,000 aircraft registered in this region are general aviation aircraft, and more than 80% of the 609,000 pilots certificated in the United States fly general aviation aircraft. This is the fastest-growing segment, which contributed to the demand for emergency location transmitters. According to the report published in 2019, by FAA, 2,324 aircraft were added in 2017 alone, and there were about 213,050 functional aircraft in this region.
• This region sees the highest number of flights, with more than 7.5 million trips annually. Due to which, FAA has mandated the requirement of ELT on the aircraft registered in the United States or using their airspace. The regulation first came into effect in 1976 and was updated in 2009. Due to the growing disposable incomes and broader application of general aviation into transport, agriculture, survey, and recreational activities, this segment are expected to witness an increased demand for ELTs.
• ELTs have played a significant role in rescue missions lately, as this region recorded 330 accidents related to general aviation in 2017 alone. Since these flights do not follow the asset route, it becomes difficult to trace them without ELTs.
• The United States is also the largest exporter for defense aircraft and exports them to countries like Canada, Japan, Australia, Pakistan, and South Korea. In August 2019, the United States started shipment of Apache helicopters to India, and Chinook helicopter will also be delivered to India.
• The recreation boat is the primary consumer when it comes to the number of ELTs used in maritime activities in this region. The National Marine Manufacturers Association of the United States estimates a surge in demand for powerboats in the region. The agency further shared that about 280,000 units were sold in 2018 in the United States, which was the highest in the past ten years.

Competitive Landscape

The emergency location transmitter market appears to be moderately competitive, with the presence of many players. The market with the major players adopting strategies, like product innovation, mergers, and acquisitions. The major players in the market are Honeywell International Inc., Orolia Holding SAS, ECA Group, and Astronics Corporation, among others.

• June 2020 - Honeywell International Inc. plans to develop a fully-retrofittable solution with the help of emergency locator transmitter hardware and an updated version of the EGPWS MK V-A. The solution is flexible enough to allow the OEM to create its own trigger conditions that determine distress.
• June 2020 - Orolia Holding SAS completed its strategic partnership with Seven Solutions to deliver extremely resilient, accurate, and stable time and frequency for military, critical infrastructure, and commercial applications. This agreement not only strengthens the skills and resources of Orolia but also enhances its global distribution network.

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