The market for land and sea-based electro-optical systems is poised to rise steadily over the coming years, according to a new Forecast International/DMS market analysis (available October 1).
The potential market value of a sampling of land and sea-based electro-optical defense systems slated for production during the next ten years is approximately $15.2 billion.
The predicted trend shows a significant rise in expenditures in this market over the period, starting at $1.135 billion in 2001 and climbing to $1.776 billion by 2007. The annual total will then dip slightly to $1.484 billion by 2010 which can be attributed to the move from development to production for many systems.
While corporate acquisitions such as the takeover of Pilkington Optronics and Racal by the ever-growing Thales have been a boon to manufacturers, it is the shear need of military forces all over the world to enhance their fighting capability with the most advanced equipment which is probably the strongest single factor to account for the rise of the market.
Night vision systems, thermal viewing systems, and high energy systems are all among the vanguard technology of a rapidly transforming world-wide military and defense industry.
Raytheon holds the position as the top US manufacturer of EO technology in the study’s ranking of top manufacturers. The company continues to be a leader in providing some of the most advanced defense systems available, including the LRAS3 (Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System); the PAS-13 Modular Thermal Weapon Sight (MTWS) and the VAS-3 Driver’s Thermal Viewer (DTV).
The LRAS3 provides precise, rapid information on distant targets, including detection, recognition, identification and pinpointing. The ten-year value of this program alone, as projected in this analysis, is estimated to be $228 million.
Another facet of the rising electro-optical systems market is the pronounced presence of Russia. The nation has been gaining a stronger position just behind the US, Britain and France as one of the leading defense exporters in the world.
Advanced air-defense, night vision and anti-tank systems coming out of the country have all reportedly contributed to an annual revenue in the low billions of dollars.
The desire in a number of countries for Russian-made tanks, and the ongoing modernization of these vehicles is expected to result in the continued success of such advanced Russian-made tank countermeasures systems as the Shtora-1.
Forecast International/DMS’s 2001 Land- And Sea-Based Electro-Optical Systems Market Analysis is available as an individual report or as part of Forecast International/DMS’s Electro-Optical Forecast binder. The binder provides a large sampling of the electro-optical systems market and its various subsegments (i.e. imaging systems, high energy systems, targeting systems, etc.) by surveying a number of lead products and systems in each area. Full ten-year forecasts, as well as unit and value of production charts are also provided.
