Multi-Function Display Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2025 - 2030)

Global Multi-Function Display Market Trends and Insights

Ongoing Commercial and Military Aircraft Deliveries

Rising production of narrow-body jets and rotorcraft sustains baseline demand for glass cockpits across both new-builds and retrofits. Collins Aerospace won a USD 80 million contract in March 2025 to equip U.S. Army H-60M Black Hawk helicopters with its Mosarc modular avionics suite, illustrating how military orders continue to underwrite display backlogs.^{[1]Collins Aerospace, “U.S. Army Selects Mosarc Family for H-60M Black Hawk Avionics,” asdnews.com} Commercial fleets also remain upgrade-active; Boeing’s E-3 AWACS DRAGON program replaces 1970s instruments with full-color MFDs that cut crew workload and extend service life. Internationally, F-5 and F-16 fighter mid-life upgrades integrate glass displays to keep legacy aircraft mission-relevant, reinforcing a dependable revenue stream for avionics suppliers.

Rapid Digitization of Automotive Cockpits

Automotive human-machine interface (HMI) strategies are shifting from discrete gauges to unified, software-defined displays. AUO’s April 2024 agreement to acquire BHTC brings large-volume capacitive touch expertise that bridges consumer and automotive requirements.^{[2]AUO, “AUO to Acquire BHTC,” digitimes.com} Electric vehicles intensify demand for energy-efficient head-up and infotainment screens that convey range, charging, and driver-assistance data. Aerospace suppliers are transferring avionics-grade reliability into vehicles; the Venue smart monitor launched in March 2025 offers 4K video and remote updatability originally developed for business jets. This cross-pollination shortens development cycles and broadens the multi-function display market across mobility segments.

Defense Modernization Programs in Asia and MENA

Rapid defense spending in Asia and the Middle East drives multi-function display market orders for combat aircraft, rotorcraft, and ground vehicles. Egypt’s Apache fleet upgrade, valued at USD 102 million, replaces legacy sensors with Gen III systems that feed high-resolution imagery to new cockpit displays.^{[3]Lockheed Martin, “Egyptian Apache Gen III Upgrade,” lockheedmartin.com} In the Gulf, BAE Systems and Raytheon deliver digital HUD kits to extend the life of UAE F-16s. These projects bolster regional maintenance ecosystems and secure long-term spares revenue, reinforcing the strategic importance of glass cockpits for mission readiness.

Regulatory Mandates for Airspace Modernization

Mandatory ADS-B Out equipage in the United States and parallel SESAR requirements in Europe obligate operators to install compliant transponders that integrate seamlessly with flight deck displays. The Federal Aviation Administration continues to enforce equipage for domestic operations. SESAR’s trajectory-based operations similarly rely on advanced situational-awareness screens to present 4D navigation cues. Retrofit programs, such as Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion upgrade for King Air turboprops, illustrate how mandates anchor predictable display replacement cycles while improving operational efficiency and safety.

High Bill-of-Materials Cost of OLED/MicroLED Panels

Next-generation emissive technologies promise weight and power advantages, yet complex backplane processing and tight yield tolerances keep production costs high. Premium automotive dashboards absorb some surcharge, but mainstream vehicle programs often revert to mature LCD platforms when budgets tighten. In aerospace, lifecycle cost analyses still favor AMLCD modules for most retrofits, delaying inflection toward OLED until tandem or RGB-stack designs achieve certified reliability at competitive prices.

Semiconductor and Specialty-Glass Supply Chain Risks

Concentration of driver IC fabrication and aluminosilicate glass melting in East Asia exposes the multi-function display industry to geopolitical tension, natural disasters, and energy-price shocks. Export restrictions on gallium and germanium in 2024 highlighted material vulnerabilities, while furnace outages at key substrate suppliers lengthened lead times. Avionics primes respond by dual-qualifying sources and carrying strategic inventories, but lingering shortages continue to influence delivery schedules and working capital needs.

Segment Analysis

By Platform: Airborne Adoption Stays Dominant Amid Ground-Vehicle Upswing

The airborne segment contributed 58.32% of 2024 revenue, reflecting entrenched fitment on commercial transports, business jets, and rotorcraft. Certification heritage, retrofit activity, and sustained line-fit installations keep aircraft cockpits the anchor of the multi-function display market. Airframers embrace large-area avionics suites that merge navigation, surveillance, and engine data on scalable panels, trimming pilot scan time and facilitating software-based upgrades. Military fleets amplify demand through helmet-mounted displays that overlay targeting cues, while satellite operators procure rugged MFDs for ground control stations.

Land-based demand grows fastest at a 9.87% CAGR as cars, combat vehicles, and rail systems digitalize operator environments. Automotive OEMs prioritize head-up displays and pillar-to-pillar screens to support advanced driver-assistance features. Defense ministries specify rugged mission computers and ballistic-resistant touchscreens for armored fleets, driving incremental volumes. The resulting diversification reduces the platform concentration risk historically attached to aerospace and broadens supplier addressable markets.

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

By Technology: LCD Economies of Scale Face OLED Momentum

LCD/AMLCD retained 44.72% revenue share in 2024 thanks to decades-old production lines, supply resilience, and mature certification data. The multi-function display market size for the technology benefits from low operating voltage, wide temperature tolerance, and competitive pricing. Suppliers enhance luminance above 1,000 nits and integrate optical bonding to meet sunlight readability without sacrificing reliability.

OLED and QD-OLED modules, expanding at a 9.46% CAGR, offer infinite contrast and flexible form factors attractive for curved automotive dashboards and panoramic business-jet cabins. Their rise is constrained by lifetime and image-retention tests under DO-160 thermal cycles, yet tandem-stack architectures and protective compensation algorithms improve prospects. MiniLED backlights narrow the performance gap by boosting HDR efficacy on established LCD substrates, keeping price-sensitive retrofits within budget.

By End-Use Industry: Aerospace and Defense Hold Scale as Automotive Accelerates

Aerospace and Defense held 69.53% of 2024 revenue, underscoring the sector’s certification complexity and mission-critical requirements. Long platform lifecycles guarantee retrofit demand even during civil downturns, while multi-year defense programs provide order book visibility. The multi-function display market size in this segment also benefits from mandated redundancy and high mean-time-between-failure targets.

Automotive adoption, advancing at 8.94% CAGR, leverages consumer electronics aesthetics to win buyers and support advanced driver assistance systems. Weight optimization, low reflection coatings, and haptic feedback features migrate from the flight deck to the car cabin. Maritime, industrial, and healthcare users form smaller but stable niches that value ruggedization, wide viewing angles, and glove-friendly touch interfaces, ensuring additional demand diversity.

By Display Size: Mid-Range Panels Dominate as Large Formats Proliferate

Panels between 5 inches and 10 inches delivered 45.38% of 2024 revenue, balancing information density with cockpit and dashboard real estate. They remain standard on narrow-body flight decks and regional jet EFB replacements. Compact under-5-inch screens populate helmet visors and portable mission tablets where power and weight minima are critical.

Displays larger than 15 inches represent the fastest expansion path at 9.68% CAGR through large-area flight decks and wide automotive clusters. Ultra-wide business-jet installations replace multiple smaller units to streamline pilot workflows. Bonded anti-reflective coatings, redundant power supplies, and split-screen architectures sustain safety compliance while satisfying aesthetic preferences. Suppliers invest in scalable backlights and frame-border reductions to maximize active area without reworking existing cockpit structures.

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

By System Type: Flight Displays Lead, HUDs Gain Altitude

Electronic flight displays accounted for 47.86% of 2024 revenue, a testament to their role as primary flight instruments in virtually every modern cockpit. Continuous software updates add synthetic vision, turbulence awareness, and surface-movement guidance features, preserving installed-base relevance. The multi-function display market size for EFDs further grows via regional-jet and turboprop upgrades seeking ADS-B and RNP compliance.

Head-up displays, rising at 9.73% CAGR, translate flight and driving data into the operator’s line of sight, supporting zero-phased-lag situational awareness. Military users value monocular waveguide optics that integrate with night-vision devices, while automotive OEMs roll out windshield-projection units on high-volume models. Helmet-mounted and portable MFDs remain critical for dismounted operations, medical evacuation, and maintenance crews, providing mission flexibility where fixed displays are impractical.

Geography Analysis

North America generated 36.48% of 2024 revenue, reflecting dense commercial fleets, large installed military inventories, and high discretionary income for business aviation upgrades. Congressional defense appropriations and FAA modernization timelines underwrite predictable retrofit commitments. Suppliers also maintain local manufacturing and MRO hubs that shorten turnaround times and support life-cycle logistics.

Europe remains the second-largest region, buoyed by Airbus production and SESAR-driven avionics harmonization. Fleet commonality incentives push operators to align cockpit architectures across narrow-body and wide-body families, consolidating display procurement. Defense customers pursue sixth-generation fighter roadmaps that emphasize panoramic cockpit layouts with modular display canvases.

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing territory, posting a 9.12% CAGR through 2030. Rising incomes lift air-travel demand, spurring new airline formation and fleet expansion that embed glass cockpits from factory. Governments in Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia invest heavily in indigenous defense projects, boosting regional avionics supply chain depth. China’s acquisition of additional AMLCD capacity lowers panel cost worldwide and strengthens its leverage over critical components.

The Middle East and Africa continue to prioritize fleet service-life extension over new builds, steering opportunities toward retrofits and sustainment contracts. South America shows steady recovery as carriers exit bankruptcy and update cockpits to meet ADS-B mandates, albeit from a smaller installed base. Global demand dispersion cushions suppliers against cyclical air-transport slowdowns in any single region, keeping the multi-function display market on a broad upward trajectory.