The U.S. deployment of attack drones in the tense Korean theater is a symbol of not only the role unmanned aircraft are playing
in the so-called war on terror, but a sign of a rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive defense market dependent on robot
warfare.
Business, as they say, is booming.
“It’s a really crowded marketplace,” said Dan Wasserbly, an analyst at IHS Jane's/IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO). “Everybody makes these things now."
At least 140 specific models of drone are used by the world’s defense agencies for either surveillance or to take out human and
other ground targets, according to the Military
Factory, with the U.S. using them heavily in Afghanistan and Iraq. Though there are philosophical arguments against using these
killer robots, it’s clear drone warfare is ingrained in global defense budgets of all sizes.
2 Military Vendors Hold Half Of Drone Market
The long-endurance Gray Eagle drones being deployed in South Korea are manufactured by the privately held General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., the leading military drone contractor, though some engines and armaments are provided
by publicly traded companies. The Gray Eagles carry the potent, armor-penetrating Hellfire missiles produced by the
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT).
General Atomics, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) and Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) account for 66 percent of the drone market, according to the defense intelligence
journal C4ISTNET. It said that General Atomics’ MQ-9 Reaper — powered by a Honeywell
International Inc. (NYSE: HON) engine and a
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) targeting system
— accounted for more than a quarter of the defense drone market.
"General Atomics is the top vendor that owns more than a third of the defense market at more than $4 billion," the journal said,
quoting a study by market research firm Govin. "Northrop Grumman is a distant second with less than half of that capture. Combined,
these top two vendors account for more than 50 percent of the UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] market. Textron owns 10 percent of
the market, while Boeing rounds out the top four with seven percent."
Anti-Drone Defense: A Growing Sector
The increased reliance on drones likely will lead to attempts by competitors to break into General Atomics lion's share of the
market, said Philip Finnegan, director of corporate analysis for the Teal Group, a defense and aerospace analytical firm.
One of the big growth sectors in the drone defense business is developing anti-drone defense systems to deal with the deluge of
small drones that can be used for guerrilla warfare. The radical Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have perfected the use of drones
for surveillance and is seeking to weaponize them.
Wasserbly said it wouldn't be a good investment to use a missile to down a drone, since many are so cheap and small.
Boeing and Northrop Grumman are developing systems for truck-mounted laser guns for the U.S. Army, Wasserbly said. The nonprofit
Battelle Memorial Institute makes the “DroneDefender,” which shoots radio frequencies to confuse enemy drone’s GPS systems.
“It looks like a really impressive
rifle,” Wasserbly says.
The Teal Group's Finnegan said drone counter measures are vital.
"There's going to be explosive growth in that area," he said. "It is going to be huge."
Billions At Stake
The Teal Group's latest study estimates that military unmanned aircraft will rise from a $2.8 billion business in 2016 to $9.4
billion in 2025. The civilian, local government and commercial side has perhaps even more potential, with Teal forecasting the $2.6
billion in sales last year reaching $10.9 billion by 2025.
Business Insider predicted overall
U.S. drone revenues — both military and commercial — would reach $12 billion by 2021 compared to $8 billion in 2015.
Like any other sector, there are risks. The Motley Fool picked AeroVironment
Inc.(NASDAQ: AVAV) among the four of the best drone
stocks last year, but sales soon plunged. Another
pick, Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ESLT) was up more than 37 percent from a year ago and another, Ambarella
Inc. (NASDAQ: AMBA) was up more than 48 percent
from a year ago.
The degree to which a reliance on aerial robots will render existing manned systems obsolete is unclear. Though drones have
replaced some attack helicopters, Wasserbly said unmanned systems are more “supplemental” to global defenses.
The U.S. military has for years used unmanned vehicles and vessels to combat mines, and advanced robotics in those areas are
expected to also grow.
"Unmanned military ground, sea and air vehicle technology is evolving rapidly and we are seeing strong growth across all three
sectors over the next five to ten years," said Derrick Maple, principal analyst for unmanned systems at IHS Jane's.
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