Increasing Demand for Light Communication Equipment

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The global rugged equipment market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.38% during the period 2017-2021, according to a forecast by analysts from the Technavio market research company.

Military-based rugged equipment follows specific military standards (MIL-STD), while industrial rugged equipment follows ingress protection (IP) grades. IP Code is the international standard used to classify protection against solid objects and water. The IP rating consists of two numbers. The higher the numbers, the more durable the product.

The demand for rugged equipment is increasing slightly due to uncertainties in many countries around the world, though the overall budget allocation for the global defense and military is witnessing a decline. The regional tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have also prompted governments to increase their spending on rugged equipment, according to satprnews.com.

One of the major drivers for this market is increasing demand for portable communication systems. Communication equipment used by the defense and military segment were bulky and had limited features. In order to overcome these challenges, vendors have developed rugged portable communication systems that are lightweight and compact.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is increasing adoption of UAV by defense and military. Micro aerial vehicles (MAV) and portable unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are equipped with autopilot, navigation systems, airframe, engine, sensor package, and communication links. These vehicles are smaller in size, and therefore more cost-effective than manned aircraft and standard unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Key vendors operating in rugged equipment market space include Abaco Systems, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions, Aqeri, Raytheon, Sparton Rugged Electronics and many more.