An aerostat is a lighter than an air aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a buoyant gas. Aerostats include unpowered balloons and powered airships. A balloon may be free-flying or tethered. Aerostats offer many advantages like consuming less fuel, being stationary, and carrying a large payload with minimum expenditure. Aerostats act as a deterrent to cross-border smugglers carrying illegal drugs by air. In a month, aerostat usage can save about 500% in surveillance costs, compared to the expenditure incurred by using fixed-wing aircraft.

Bravura Information Technology Systems has been awarded by the US Army contract, worth USD 305 million, to support the persistent surveillance systems-tethered aerostat program. An Israeli aerostat company, RT LTA Systems has established a new subsidiary under the name Aero-T, which will develop and manufacture a new range of aerostats called SkyGuard that would operate maintenance-free for at least seven days.

With proper development and funding, aerostats would replace UAVs and low-flying surveillance systems from the constant surveillance field, where operating costs and the focus of operation are major constraints. Recently, Drone Aviation has accomplished the integration of government-furnished ISR equipment supporting the simultaneous use of communications and optical payload packages, onto the Winch Aerostat Small Platform tactical aerostat, under the recent contract with the US Department of Defense.

Source: Mordor Intelligence Analysis

North America Leading the Market

North America is expected to lead the market for aerostats, due to its acceptance and already prevalent usage in law enforcement. There has been an increase in the usage of the aerostat systems in the US region for surveillance purposes. Aerostat systems, such as the Tethered Aerospace Radar Systems (TARS) are being increasingly used by the US Department of Defense, to obtain low-level surveillance coverage. Moreover, aerostat systems, such as the Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS) are being highly used by the US army, to provide soldiers with long-range intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as communication assistance. 

As Mexico shares a border with the United States, it is expected to tap into the aerostat demand market, which will accelerate the growth in law enforcement, border security, and surveillance of sensitive areas. Due to the threat of criminal activity and terrorist-instigated violence, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa are expected to witness an increase in the aerostat demand for border security and public area surveillance.

Proper marketing of aerostat is expected to boost the acceptance and support from the communication department, local law enforcement, and border security forces in countries such as India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and others (with a large area, difficult weather, and rough terrain). The UAE and some African countries like the Republic of South Africa, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire are other possible markets for this technology; if successful, its development would be replicated in the countries like Egypt, Turkey, and Syria.

Source: Mordor Intelligence Analysis

Key Developments in the Market:

• February 2018: Lockheed Martin has developed VCSi, a new control software that enables operators to simultaneously control multiple UAS and conduct ISR missions from anywhere around the globe.
• June 2017: Boeing Co's Insitu Inc. and Textron Inc.'s AAI Corp were awarded a USD 475 million contract each by the US Special Operations Command to manufacture ISR for the US army.
• June 2017: Textron Systems Unmanned Systems' Nightwarden Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS) made its international debut at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. 

Major Players: Lockheed Martin Corporation, L-3 Communications, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and UTC Aerospace Systems, among others.

Report Scope:

Reasons to Purchase the Report

• Study on the adoption of  navigation systems in developing regions and its effects on the global Aerostat Systems industry
• Analyzing various perspectives of the market with the help of Porter’s five forces analysis
• Study on the type of Aerostat system expected to dominate the market during the forecast period
• Study on the region expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period
• Identify the latest developments, market shares, and strategies employed by the major market players
• 3-month analyst support, along with the Market Estimate sheet (in Excel).

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