Market Trends of UAV Navigation Systems Industry
Military Segment to Dominate Market Share During the Forecast Period
In terms of application, the military segment holds a higher market share in the UAV navigation systems market compared to the civil and commercial segments. The proliferation of UAVs in the military sector is due to their enhanced capabilities in providing situational awareness to ground troops.
Compared to the civil and commercial segment, the UAVs in the military require better maneuvering capabilities with precision navigation and guidance, as they need to perform complicated tactical missions. It is the main reason for the high cost of the navigation systems in military UAVs.
Also, the increased autonomous capabilities of the UAVs in the military are demanding complex system-level architecture of the navigation systems, thereby increasing their market revenues and supporting the growth of the segment. For instance, in May 2023, I-CONIC Vision, together with Spacemetric, won a contract on autonomous navigation independent of GNSS within the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration's military innovation program. The project aims to investigate different methods for GNSS-free navigation by drones over longer distances.
North America to Dominate Market Share During the Forecast Period
UAVs are increasingly being used in North America for various applications, including aerial photography, border security, law enforcement, weather research, emergency response, forest fire monitoring, scientific data collection, logistics and last-mile delivery, and traffic monitoring and control. For instance, in January 2021, Black Swift Technologies LLC (BST) was awarded a contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is to develop commercially viable technology to enable GPS-denied navigation of UAVs during flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). Black Swift Technologies LLC aims to provide this service through a robust, secondary navigation option using their diverse-source global positioning system (DS-GPS).
However, the military segment remains the biggest demand generator for UAVs in North America, as the US military procures and operates a large number of UAVs every year. With the increasing UAV usage, the demand for UAV subsystems like navigation systems is increasing in the region. It, coupled with the presence of a large number of UAV manufacturers in the region, is the main reason for the high market share of North America in the UAV navigation systems market.
For instance, in May 2023, Asio Technologies (Israel) completed several demonstrations successfully of its NavGuard optical navigation system to strategic customers in the United States. The demonstrations, conducted in response to defense and civil customer requests, involved a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is to perform aerial navigation activities as well as automatic point-to-point deliveries of packages over urban and rural areas without relying on GNSS signals.
