Utility Aircraft Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Utility Aircraft Market is projected to grow with a CAGR of more than 4 % during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

• The primary factor driving growth for the market are military modernization programs and increased spending of several nations to enhance their aircraft fleets and replace old aircrafts, the increasing use of aircrafts in different fields like firefighting, agriculture, sports activities and others.
• The advantage of using utility aircrafts are supporting its demand in the market, it can be used in different ways according to the situational demand, like transporting people, other supplies and the same aircraft can be used in place of big and heavy (specialized) aircraft when they are not availale or they are actually not required.
• However, because of the ongoing pandemic COVID-19, the market is expected to witness slowdown till second half of the calendar year 2021 until things return to normal.

Key Market Trends

Military Holds Largest Market Share

By application type, Utility aircraft are segmented into military, civil and commercial. The military segment held the largest market share in 2019 and is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period.

The developed nations as well as the developing nations are increasing their spending in enhancing the military technology and equipment. The developed nations are replacing their old aircraft fleet with the new advanced fleet to strengthen their military might and the developing nations like India are including new aircrafts as well as replacing old fleets to modernize their army and be prepared for any possible attacks from their adversaries.

For instance,

• In December 2019, United States and Czech Republic entered into a contract of about USD 650 million which is for the sale of eight UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters with four AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.
• In February 2020, HAL received the initial operational clearance certificate from DRDO, at the 'Bandhan' program held at the DefExpo 2020 to replace the ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.

Asia-Pacific Grows with Highest CAGR

During the year 2019, the Asia-Pacific region registered the highest market share globally and is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Owing to the increased spending of the government in the region in defense sector to replace the old technology under the modernization program of the defense technology and other technological advancements in the economic conditions and activities in the region the Utility Aircraft Market in Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the global market.

For instance, in July 2019, the Indian Navy announced that they are planning to build 111 naval utility helicopters (NUH) in India under the strategic partnership model to replace its outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers. US firm Lockheed Martin, European Airbus Helicopters and Russian Helicopters are eyeing the INR 21,738-crore project that involves manufacturing the choppers locally in partnership with Indian firms.

In October 2019, Harbin Aircraft Industry Group under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has unveiled the Z-20 utility helicopter which includes advanced technologies like active vibration control, fly-by-wire, low-noise design for rotor and high-performance aerodynamic design of the rotor.

Competitive Landscape

The Utility Aircraft Market is fragmented, with many players accounting for a small market share. Some of the prominent companies in Utility Aircraft Market are Bombardier Inc., Leonardo S.p.A., Bell, Airbus S.A.S. and Textron Inc. The players in the market are expanding their customerbase and entering in the market to gain the market share.

For instance, in June 2020, Helinet Aviation has announced addition of a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter to California’s aerial firefighting fleet and with this they entered the utility aircraft market.

In January 2020, Rolls-Royce announced that they have added four new Helicopter customers in 2019 to its premier TotalCare engine servicing program. The addition of Collier Mosquito Control District, Life Flight Network, Red River Ranch, and Centaurium Aviation brings the total number of TotalCare helicopter customers to twenty-one.

In May 2020, MagniX and AeroTEC successfully tested all electric Cessna airplane in air for the first time. Cessna 208B Grand Caravan powered by MagniX’s 750-horsepower Magni500 propulsion system. Cessna caravan is a utility aircraft which is most widely used and s known for its rugged utility and flexibility.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support