Fighter Aircraft Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends And Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Global Fighter Aircraft Market Trends and Insights

Increasing Defense Budgets in Emerging APAC Economies

East Asian military spending rose to USD 411 billion in 2023, marking 6.2% annual growth that eclipsed the global average.^{[1]Gregory Allen & Isaac Goldston, “CCA Signals a New Era in AI-Driven Air Combat,” csis.org} India allocated USD 75 billion for defense in FY 2024-25, funneling roughly 30% of that toward capital projects such as the AMCA program. South Korea boosted its 2024 budget to USD 44.2 billion, prioritizing KF-21 production and F-35A expansion to deter regional threats. These sustained outlays underpin multi-year procurement pipelines for indigenous fighters and foreign military sales (FMS). Local production offsets, meanwhile, are catalyzing new joint-venture assembly lines and increasing long-term MRO workloads in the fighter aircraft market.

Recapitalization of Aging 4th-Generation Fleets with 5th-Generation Aircraft*

The US Air National Guard secured approval in 2025 to swap 54 F-15C/D jets for 42 F-35As and 21 F-15EXs, underscoring the urgency to retire maintenance-intensive airframes.^{[2]Department of the Air Force, “Record of Decision—F-15EX and F-35A Operational Beddowns,” federalregister.gov} Similar patterns prevail in Europe, where Spain ordered 25 additional Typhoons in 2024 and Finland’s 64-unit F-35A program stays on track for 2030 completion. Escalating sustainment costs for legacy fighters—often aggravated by component cannibalization—are accelerating replacement schedules despite budget pressure. Operators also seek step-change stealth, sensor fusion, and electronic warfare (EW) performance unattainable via incremental upgrades. These tendencies anchor a stable demand baseline for 5th-generation jets through the decade.

Advanced Avionics Enabling Multi-Domain Operations

An F-35 recently commanded autonomous drones in flight through AI-enabled links, illustrating how sensor fusion converts fighters into network nodes rather than isolated shooters.^{[3]Lockheed Martin, “F-35 Demonstrates Autonomous Control of Drone,” lockheedmartin.com} Pilots can offload surveillance, electronic attack, and decoy tasks to unmanned wingmen, freeing bandwidth for strategic decision-making. Air forces now draft requirements around open architectures and rapid software drops rather than solely thrust-to-weight ratios. This pivot fuels lucrative upgrade cycles for mission computers, data links, and cyber-hardened operating systems. Vendors that master secure DevSecOps pipelines quickly gain a competitive advantage in the fighter aircraft market.

Indigenous Fighter Programs for Strategic Sovereignty

India’s USD 15 billion AMCA and Turkey’s KAAN—fresh off a February 2024 first flight—exemplify a global quest for defense autonomy. These projects cultivate domestic supply chains, build aerospace talent pools, and promise export leverage once maturity is reached. Europe is pursuing the tri-national GCAP and the Franco-German-Spanish FCAS with aggregate commitments exceeding USD 100 billion through 2040. Such programs often include generous R&D tax credits and public-private consortia that de-risk early-stage technology work. For global suppliers, aligning with local tier-2 manufacturers is essential to remain present in future tenders.

Long Development Lead-Times and Cost Overruns

Weapons integration averages 38 months per store-aircraft combo, driving cumulative delays that balloon life-cycle cost projections.^{[4]Defense Acquisition University, “Accelerating Weapons Integration for Fighter and Bomber Aircraft,” dau.edu} Europe’s FCAS struggles to reconcile capability ambition with affordability, pushing milestone dates to the right. NGAD faces similar headwinds, with a unit-cost whisper number near USD 300 million sparking calls for program rescope. Prolonged design phases also risk obsolescence as threat envelopes evolve faster than certification queues. Customers, therefore, hedge with mixed fleets of proven 4.5th-generation platforms while monitoring next-gen maturation.

High Pilot-Training and Retention Costs

The US Air Force’s 1,142-fighter-pilot deficit in 2024 forced pipeline changes that diverted trainees to mobility aircraft, slowing fighter-unit manning. Bonuses and improved quality-of-life initiatives have yielded marginal gains but have not closed the gap. European and Asia-Pacific air arms face similar churn as commercial airlines rebound and entice aviators with higher pay. Unmanned wingman programs promise workload relief but introduce new training syllabi and simulator requirements. Ultimately, elevated personnel costs eat into procurement budgets, tempering fleet-expansion aspirations.

Segment Analysis

By Take-off and Landing: Carrier Operations Drive VTOL Innovation

Conventional CTOL aircraft generated 58.48% of the 2024 fighter aircraft market size, reflecting broad runway infrastructure and proven logistics chains. VTOL fighters, led by the F-35B, are rising at a 6.39% CAGR as European navies and the Indo-Pacific seek deck-launched capabilities for dispersed operations.

VTOL demand is further boosted by Agile Combat Employment doctrines that require flexibility under runway-denied conditions. STOL platforms remain niche but could see uplift as dispersed basing gains traction. These trends reshape OEM R&D budgets toward compact propulsion and thrust-vectoring modules to secure future fighter aircraft market share in carrier and expeditionary roles.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Fighter Generation: 6th-Generation Emergence Accelerates

4.5th-generation designs controlled 41.83% of the fighter aircraft market share in 2024 amid ongoing upgrades to Typhoon, Rafale, and Super Hornet. Yet 6th-generation programs post an 8.3% CAGR, fueled by NGAD and GCAP roadmaps that feature adaptive engines, collaborative combat aircraft, and AI-enabled sensor fusion.

Producers of legacy 4th-generation fleets face dwindling order books as sustainment costs climb, pushing them toward service-life extensions and export financing solutions. In contrast, 5th-generation backlogs remain robust but are constrained by production chokepoints, keeping delivery slots full through 2030 even as 6th-generation demonstrators mature.

By Engine Configuration: Twin-Engine Growth Reflects Mission Complexity

Single-engine fighters—primarily the F-35A and F-16—held 52.49% of the fighter aircraft market in 2024, favored by lower life-cycle costs and simpler maintenance footprints. Twin-engine platforms will grow 5.26% CAGR as extended-range strike missions, high electrical loads, and survivability imperatives gain prominence.

Air forces valuing deep-strike capacity or heavy electronic-warfare payloads increasingly gravitate toward twin-engine options such as the F-15EX, Rafale, and Typhoon. The consensus among emerging 6th-generation designs is that a twin-engine baseline ensures ample power and thermal margins for directed-energy weapons and broadband sensors.

By Mission Role: Multi-Role Platforms Dominate Procurement

Air-superiority variants held 48.95% of the fighter aircraft market share in 2024; however, multi-role aircraft are expanding at a 6.38% CAGR as budget-constrained operators demand swing-role flexibility.

Sensor fusion and precision-guided munitions equip multi-role fighters to suppress air defenses, execute close-air support, and gather ISR in one sortie. Dedicated CAS or strike airframes continue to fade as generational upgrades integrate advanced weapons and data links, boosting demand elasticity for multi-role offerings within the fighter aircraft market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By End User: Naval Aviation Drives Market Expansion

Air Force operators retained a 52.94% share in 2024 but face the slowest growth. Naval aviation traffic—buoyed by Indo-Pacific carrier investments—will outpace all other segments at 7.85% CAGR through 2030.

India’s USD 7.5 billion Rafale Marine acquisition and France’s continued Rafale-M buys reinforce blue-water strike ambitions. Marine and Army aviation upgrades center on vertical-lift concepts, but naval air wings stand out as prime adopters of collaborative combat aircraft, enlarging addressable opportunities for mission-system suppliers.

Geography Analysis

North America generated 36.97% of the global fighter aircraft market revenue in 2024, anchored by F-35A, F-15EX, and forthcoming CCA orders. The region’s share is stable, yet growth moderates as production ramps plateau and governmental focus tilts toward sustainability efficiencies.

Europe’s fighter aircraft market size is forecasted to rise at a 6.54% CAGR. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine catalyzed defense-spending uplifts exceeding NATO’s 2% GDP pledge across multiple member states. FCAS and GCAP consortia inject substantial R&D outlays, while short-run deliveries of Typhoon Tranche 4 and Rafale F4 support immediate readiness.

Asia-Pacific exhibits bifurcated trajectories: US allies continue F-35 adoption, whereas China advances J-20 and J-31 production. India and South Korea pursue indigenous programs that stretch beyond 2030 but redirect local value addition upwards of 60%. Middle East operators prioritize turnkey capability, sustaining repeat F-15SA, F-35I, and Rafale contracts despite fiscal volatility linked to oil prices.