Israel to Benefit from Increased U.S. UAV Spending?

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Unmanned vehicles 2014 – Market analysis firm Frost & Sullivan forecasts a five-year rise in U.S. military spending on unmanned aerial vehicles but recommends UAV manufacturers also explore opportunities in foreign and commercial markets.

A 24 percent increase in military spending for unmanned aerial vehicles into the year 2018 is forecasted by market analysis firm Frost & Sullivan. The increase from 2013 represents a rise from $4.97 billion to $6.53 billion.

If budget constraints have an adverse impact on Pentagon research funding, Frost & Sullivan said, then spending on UAVs by 2018 could only be between $3.7 billion to $4 billion.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

Frost & Sullivan, in its analysis of the U.S. DOD Unmanned Aerial Systems Market, noted that the high cost of developing new systems and the shrinking of defense budgets have resulted in manufacturers upgrading their UAV systems instead of developing new ones.

Another trend is the increasing use of commercial off-the-shelf components and sub-systems in UAVs and their control stations. Israeli manufacturers find it very hard to penetrate the U.S market even with special systems.