Armor Materials Market - Segmented by Type, Application, and Geography - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2019 - 2024)

The global armor material market (henceforth, referred to as the market studied, unless specified otherwise) was valued at USD 8,716.93 million in 2017. This market is expected to reach USD 13,037.37 million by 2023, recording an estimated CAGR of 7.10 % over the forecast period, 2018 to 2023 (henceforth, referred to as the forecast period).

Increasing Homeland Security Concerns 

Homeland security concerns have made it necessary for all countries to have well-trained defense forces. The army is trained to fight, in the event of wars with other countries. For homeland security, soldiers are meant to fight, for which they require weapons, vehicles, and body shields to protect them. During wars, soldiers have to wear body armor and carry weapons such as guns, grenades, etc. Hence, these are to be made available to military personnel during wars. Every year, more individuals join the army, creating further demand for armors and weapons. As per the data provided in the graph, millions of soldiers are active in several countries, which further reflects the demand for guns, armor, etc. in these countries. Countries across the globe invest heavily in maintaining sufficient supply of all such goods in anticipation of war. Armor materials are used extensively to produce body armors, weapon armors, armored vehicles, tankers, etc. Hence, the demand for armor materials is driven considerably by increasing homeland security concerns.

Body Armor Dominates the Market

Wearing body armor is almost a common practice, and in a lot of instances, mandatory among military personnel and special forces, as they help reduce fatalities in military environments. In the United States, the Special Operations Command is expected to be transformative, for the purpose of future combat development. Under the Program Objective Memorandum (the approved five-year plan by the United States Special Operations), special operations force development is expected to improve significantly over the next decade. To achieve this, the force requires improved body armor, ballistic helmet systems, and communications gear of superior quality. According to army-technology.com, the US military is focusing on body armors that are lightweight and have increasing scalability, such that the wearer can adjust the equipment depending on the threat level and mission at hand. Under the new Torso and Extremity Protection System (TEP), which is a part  of the new Soldier Protection System, a modular scalable vest, ballistic combat shirt, blast pelvic protection system, and a battle belt are included, which are to be provided to the armed forces. The Spanish government has announced its decision to increase its military expenditure to approximately EUR 18 billion by 2024. In 2018, the United States Navy awarded two prominent body armor companies (Propper International and Applied Fiber Concepts Inc.) the contract to produce their newest Naval Security Forces Vest (NSFV). Continuous investments to achieve further reduction in weight of body armors, growing research and development in body armor, and the increasing demand from them by the military are expected to drive the market for body armor during the forecast period.

North America Region to Dominate the Market

North America is expected to witness the highest demand for armor materials during the forecast period. The United States is one of the largest consumers of armor materials globally. This is majorly owing to the rising homeland security concerns due to terrorism. United States was the largest military spending nation in 2017, with a spending of USD 610 billion, which is an increase of 1.6% from FY 2016, representing 35% of the global military expenditure. The military spending in the United States is 2.7 times greater than that of China, which is the next highest spender, and is even more than the next seven-highest spenders combined together. In February 2018, US government proposed a defense budget of USD 716 billion for the fiscal year 2019. The active-duty army is expected to expand the most, going from a 2018 authorized level of 476,000 to 495,500 over the coming six years. By 2023, the Navy forces may increase by 16,900, the Marine Corps by 1,400, and the Air Force by 13,700, increasing the total active-duty military to 1,365,500 personnel. The proposal also includes investment of USD 6.5 billion to place more tanks, armored vehicles, and other combat equipment in Europe, as part of the Pentagon plan to reassure European allies. All the aforementioned factors, in turn, expected to increase the demand for armor materials in the region during the forecast period.

Key Developments in the Market

• May 2017: DSM Dyneema expanded its global ballistic materials R&D capabilities for helmets.

The major players include - DowDuPont, Teijin Limited, Honeywell, Koninklijke DSM NV, Koninklijke Ten Cate BV, and Morgan Advanced Materials , amongst others.

Armor Materials Market Report Summary

Reason to Purchase the Report

• Analyzing various perspectives of the market with the help of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis.
• To understand the dominating application in the market.
• Identify the countries 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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