UNMANNED GROUND VEHICLES: TRANSITIONING CAPABILITY

Unmanned ground vehicles will see a significant take up in Asia as a flexible, cost effective and mission agile alternative to more expense manned systems.

- Andrew Drwiega

The cumulative expenditure on military Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) over the next decade to 2029 is expected to value around $7.4 billion, according to an analysis study by Reporterlinker based on Globaldata research.

The study, published in August 2019, states that the military UGV market was projected to be worth $597 million by the end of 2019, and suggested that with “a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.58 percent to value $849 million by 2029.”

Military users are increasingly experimenting with UGVs to establish their utility and practicality in a variety of roles, including intelligence gathering, combat support and logistics supply among others.

According to the study, while North America is expected to account for nearly half of the requirement at 46.1 percent up to 2029, Asia-Pacific will account for over one third at 34.7 percent with Europe securing around a 14 percent share. The Asian demand will largely come from militaries in China, India, Japan and Singapore.

The study categorises UGVs into five areas of specialisation: combat, ISR, EOD/ IED, mine-clearing and engineering, and logistics. Of these, the study finds that the largest expenditure, around 47.6 percent ($3.5 billion), will go on combat UGVs.

During the forecast period, combat UGVs account for the largest share of 47.6 percent, with cumulatively expenditure of $3.5 billion. The study finds that “Asia-Pacific is expected to be the dominant market for combat UGVs throughout the next decade, followed by North America and Europe.”

EOD/IED UGVs will be second with a share of around 20.1 percent. In order of decreasing investment will be the sectors for EOD/IED, logistics, ISR then mine-clearing and engineering with shares of 14.9 percent, 12 percent, and 5.4 percent respectively over the 2019-2029 period.

AUSTRALIAN MULE