Having been on the side of military capabilities for several years, the war in Ukraine and previously in Syria have put loitering munition at the forefront. Combining the advantages of a UAV that provides ISR while loitering above an area and the strike capabilities of a precision-guided weapon, they bring many advantages in modern operations.
Loitering munition will complement rather than replace the artillery and infantry heavy weapons systems. Having returned to near-peer or peer-to-peer conflicts, where long-range fires and ISR are key operational elements. Such artillery systems have only been available on the brigade or division level, requiring separate ISR capabilities for these units to locate, identify and engage targets. What the introduction of loitering munition does is that it brings those capabilities to the battalion level making it more effective and flexible.
Nevertheless, someone should not only expect changes in the capabilities of ground forces, but also in the naval domain. Loitering munition will be an important addition to the weapons and sensors deployed by surface units, especially those operating in the littoral areas. Similarly, it should also be expected that loitering munition will be soon deployed by aerial, manned or unmanned, platforms. However, their market proliferation pace is not expected to be as fast as for the ground-launched ones.
The market is currently facing challenges due to the disruptions in the supply chain, the cost of raw material and the lack of production capacity from key manufacturers. That will change in the next couple of years and the market is expected to become even more fragmented and competitive as key countries are expected to develop their own indigenous solutions, rather than importing them from abroad. Europe has been one of those areas, mostly relying on the products from early entrants to the market, that is the US and Israel.
Finally, with the exception of the US Marine Corps, which has defined the way that loitering munition will serve its doctrines and therefore established a table of organization and equipment, the rest of the armed forces around the world are still in the definition phase.
Market Forecast provides a detailed analysis of the Loitering Munition Market to 2031 in terms of technologies, the market landscape, procurement programmes and opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers.
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Report Code: | MF221902 |
Published: | April 11, 2023 |
Pages: | 131 (A4) |