Military Embedded Systems

Nano and micro UAS system market growth will be driven by tactical military operations, study predicts

News

December 20, 2021

Lisa Daigle

Assistant Managing Editor

Military Embedded Systems

FLIR photo: Black Hornet nano UAS.

AMSTERDAM. By 2030, the worldwide need for military-grade micro and nano unmanned aerial systems (UASs) will reach about 100,000 systems, with the bulk of the growth anticipated to occur from 2025 to 2030, when the majority of demand for small UASs will generate in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa, according to a new study from Market Forecast, "Micro and Nano Air Vehicles for Defense and Security -- Market and Technology Forecast to 2030."

According to the study authors, nano UASs are especially used as flying sensors to accomplish surveillance and reconnaissance tasks, a need that was established during conflicts in the Middle East; following the end of conflicts in that region, the U.S. and NATO countries will reduce their ground-based situational-awareness numbers and will depend on additional in-air surveillance using nano UASs.

In the future, the authors assert, conflicts will be handled using electronic countermeasures using space vehicles and UASs. 

China is investing heavily in swarms of combat UASs, the study authors report, with the targets being India and countries that intrude into the South China Sea region; in order to counter China’s ambitious UAS policies, Japan and India are working on their own UAS strategies to include more micro and nano vehicles, thereby increasing the demand for military micro and nano UASs in Asian markets.

For additional information, visit the Market Forecast website.