MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – Spending on drones is likely to double over the next decade, totaling $11.5 billion per year, aerospace and defense market research firm Teal Group’s market study revealed.
“Teal Group's 2014 market study estimates that [unmanned aerial vehicle] UAV spending will nearly double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $6.4 billion annually to $11.5 billion, totaling almost $91 billion in the next ten years,” the study said.
“The UAV market continues to evolve and become an increasingly global market,” said Philip Finnegan, Teal Group's director of corporate analysis and an author of the study.
According to the study, the growth of the drone market is primarily driven by military organizations. The current share of military UAVs is 89 percent, with 11 percent for civil drones; however, these figures are expected to change and by the end of the next decade reach 86 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
“And our coverage of the civil UAV market continues to grow with each annual report, mirroring the gradual increase in the civil market itself,” Finnegan added.
The study also predicts that the United States will account for 65 percent of worldwide research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) spending on UAV technology over the next 10 years, and about 41 percent of the procurement, according to another author of the study, Steve Zaloga.
Data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) identifies 56 different types of drones used in 11 different countries. The number of 807 UAVs in active service around the world may be underestimated as data for certain countries, like China, Turkey and Russia, was not available.
The IISS data show that the United States has at least 678 drones in service, most of them used in the military. US President Barack Obama’s administration has often been criticized for unjustified use of drones against suspected terrorists that, in many cases, have led to civilian deaths.
