Military Drones Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the military drones market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global military drones market reached a value of nearly $15.45 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.12% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $15.45 billion in 2023 to $24.61 billion in 2028 at a rate of 9.75%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.10% from 2028 and reach $39.82 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the rise in military modernization programs, increased focus on counter-terrorism efforts and growing focus on unmanned systems in defense applications. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include economic uncertainties or downturns and negative public opinion and protests against military drone usage.

Going forward, increasing geopolitical conflicts and border disputes, increasing military expenditure, increasing need for monitoring and securing national borders and government support and policies favoring drone deployment will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the military drones market in the future include significant upfront investment required for development and vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and hacking.

The military drones market is segmented by type into fixed-wing, rotary wing and hybrid. The fixed-wing market was the largest segment of the military drones market segmented by type, accounting for 48.39% or $7.47 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the hybrid segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the military drones market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 10.60% during 2023-2028.

The military drones market is segmented by application into search and rescue, national defense, military exercises and other applications. The national defense market was the largest segment of the military drones market segmented by application, accounting for 40.49% or $6.25 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the other applications segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the military drones market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 11.08% during 2023-2028.

The military drones market is segmented by drone type into MALE, HALE, TUAV, UCAV and SUAV. The UCAV market was the largest segment of the military drones market segmented by drone type, accounting for 34.95% or $5.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the HALE segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the military drones market segmented by drone type, at a CAGR of 10.04% during 2023-2028.

The military drones market is segmented by technology into remotely operated, semi-autonomous and autonomous. The remotely operated market was the largest segment of the military drones market segmented by technology, accounting for 81.86% or $12.65 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the autonomous segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the military drones market segmented by technology, at a CAGR of 13.50% during 2023-2028.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the military drones market, accounting for 35.04% or $5.41 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Eastern Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the military drones market will be the Middle East and South America, where growth will be at CAGRs of 15.40% and 13.27% respectively. These will be followed by Africa and Western Europe, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.74% and 10.14% respectively.

The global military drones market is highly concentrated, with large players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 50.97% of the total market in 2023. Lockheed Martin Corporation was the largest competitor with an 8.89% share of the market, followed by Northrop Grumman Corp. with 8.37%, Thales Group with 6.90%, Raytheon Technologies Corporation with 5.11%, The Boeing Company with 4.84%, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. with 4.04%, Elbit Systems Ltd. with 3.87%, Aerovironment Inc. with 3.50%, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. with 3.45% and Textron Inc. with 2.00%.

The top opportunities in the military drones market segmented by type will arise in the fixed-wing segment, which will gain $4.2 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the military drones market segmented by technology will arise in the remotely operated segment, which will gain $7.13 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the military drones market segmented by application will arise in the national defense segment, which will gain $3.87 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the military drones market segmented by drone type will arise in the UCAV segment, which will gain $3.27 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The military drones market size will gain the most in the USA at $916.31 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the military drones market include focusing on the enhancement of border surveillance capabilities through the deployment of stealth fixed-wing drones, collaborations and partnerships, investment in multi-functional reconnaissance drones for defense, introduction of advanced hexacopter drones for enhanced combat operations and launch of versatile modular light remote carrier drones.

Player-adopted strategies in the military drones market include focus on enhancing operational capabilities through product advancements and expansions and strengthening market position through strategic partnership.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the military drones companies to focus on border surveillance capabilities, focus on multi-functional reconnaissance drones, focus on advanced hexacopter drones, focus on versatile modular light remote carrier drones, focus on hybrid military drones, focus on autonomous military drones, focus on expanding in emerging markets, focus on strategic collaborations for market expansion, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, focus on demonstrations and proof of concept initiatives and focus on national defense segment.