Attack Helicopter Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Attack Helicopter Market is projected to experience substantial growth, rising from USD 59.81 Billion in 2025 to USD 90.31 Billion by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 7.11%. These specialized rotary-wing aircraft are engineered principally to engage ground-based threats, such as infantry, armored vehicles, and fortifications, utilizing an array of onboard weaponry including autocannons, rockets, and guided missiles. The market's expansion is largely driven by escalating geopolitical tensions that demand robust close air support capabilities, alongside the critical need for national defense forces to modernize aging fleets with advanced combat platforms.

Despite this positive trajectory, the market encounters a significant obstacle in the form of high development and acquisition costs, which can overwhelm the budgets of emerging economies and restrict procurement quantities. This financial strain persists even as the broader sector expands; notably, the AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe reported a 13.8 percent increase in defense sector turnover in 2024, reaching 183.4 billion euros due to intensified global security requirements. However, the exorbitant capital requirements for these assets remain a limiting factor for broader market volume compared to the general increase in defense allocations.

Market Drivers

A primary catalyst for the attack helicopter market is the global surge in defense budgets and military expenditure. In response to perceived security threats, governments are dedicating substantial funds to bolster their aerial combat capabilities, prioritizing platforms that deliver superior firepower and survivability. This fiscal growth enables defense departments to commit to long-term acquisition programs for modern rotary-wing assets. As reported by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in April 2024, global military expenditure reached $2.44 trillion in 2023, a real-terms increase of 6.8 percent, providing the necessary financial foundation for these high-cost procurements.

Market momentum is further sustained by the ongoing modernization and replacement of aging fleet inventories, as armed forces retire obsolete airframes to integrate newer technology with digital connectivity, improved sensors, and precision capabilities. A prominent example of this transition occurred in August 2024, when the Polish government finalized an agreement to acquire 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters to replace its Soviet-era Mi-24 fleet. This global trend is supported by consistent funding, such as the U.S. Department of Defense's Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, which included $659.9 million for the AH-64E remanufacture and new build program to maintain air superiority standards.

Market Challenges

The global attack helicopter market is severely restricted by the prohibitive costs associated with developing and acquiring these advanced aerial combat systems. The necessity to integrate complex avionics, stealth technologies, and precision weapon systems significantly drives up manufacturing expenses, creating a substantial burden on national defense budgets. This issue is particularly acute for emerging economies that must balance military modernization with other domestic priorities, often forcing nations to reduce procurement volumes or delay fleet updates, which directly impedes market expansion.

This economic pressure is further aggravated by inflation, which erodes the purchasing power of defense allocations. According to the Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales (GIFAS), the aerospace and defense industry faced a cumulative inflation of nearly 18 percent over the five years leading up to 2025. This sharp rise in costs diminishes the real value of defense spending, making high-capital assets like attack helicopters increasingly difficult to afford. Consequently, high unit prices and sustainment costs remain a primary obstacle to broader market adoption.

Market Trends

The Global Attack Helicopter Market is undergoing a significant transformation with the deployment of Air-Launched Effects (ALE) and loitering munitions, shifting operations from standalone gunships to networked manned-unmanned teams. Military forces are prioritizing the integration of small, autonomous drones launched from rotorcraft to extend sensor ranges and engage threats in contested airspace without risking crews. This tactical shift is driving capital reallocation; for instance, Defense News reported in March 2024 that the U.S. Army plans to redirect $4.5 billion from the canceled Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program to fund priorities such as future unmanned aerial systems and launched effects.

Simultaneously, there is an accelerated development of high-speed next-generation rotorcraft designed to overcome the velocity and range limitations of legacy fleets. To remain effective in near-peer conflicts, defense departments are investing heavily in tiltrotor and compound helicopter architectures that offer deep-strike capabilities far exceeding current standards. This pursuit of enhanced performance is evidenced by the U.S. Army's March 2024 budget highlights, which requested $1.26 billion for Aviation Advanced Development to continue the prototyping and manufacturing of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), underscoring the strategic commitment to next-generation vertical lift technologies.

Key Players Profiled in the Attack Helicopter Market

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
• Changhe aircraft industries corporation
• Denel Aeronautics
• Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd.
• Leonardo S.p.A.
• Airbus SE
• Lockheed Martin Corporation
• The Boeing Company
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Attack Helicopter Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Attack Helicopter Market, by Maximum Takeoff Weight:

• Below 8 Metric Tons
• Above 8 Metric Tons

Attack Helicopter Market, by Type:

• Single-engine
• Twin-engine

Attack Helicopter Market, by Platform:

• Army
• Navy
• Air Force

Attack Helicopter Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Attack Helicopter Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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