Report: Worldwide UAV Spending Could Reach $81B Over 10 Years

The market for unmanned aerial vehicles in the U.S. has recorded double digit growth over the past five years, according to a Defense News report.

According to Marcus Weisgerber’s report, that growth will be reflected in international markets as well.

Derrick Maple, an analyst with HIS, predicts that around $81 billion will be spent worldwide on unmanned aircraft technologies over the next ten years, Weisgerber reports.

The current global unmanned aircraft market is about $11 billion, with the U.S. share totaling about $4.5 billion, analysts told Weisgerber.

According to Maple,  emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and South Korea will be major players in the UAV market going forward.

In 2012, the Pentagon’s five year-prediction on UAV spending came to $41 billion but dropped to $29 billion in 2013.

Currently, the U.S. spends $4.5 billion out of $11 billion total spent in the global UAV marketplace.