Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry this decade, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis.

Teal Group’s 2011 market study estimates that UAV spending will almost double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $5.9 billion annually to $11.3 billion, totaling just over $94 billion in the next ten years. (For study availability look up http:www.tealgroup.com/).

“The UAV market will continue to be strong despite cuts in defense spending,” said Philip Finnegan, Teal Group’s Director of Corporate Analysis and an author of the study. “UAVs have proved their value in Iraq and Afghanistan and will be a high priority for militaries in the United States and worldwide.”

The study suggests that the US will account for 77 per cent of the worldwide RDT&E spending on UAV technology over the next decade, and about 69 per cent of the procurement. “We expect that the sales of UAVs will follow recent patterns of high-tech arms procurement worldwide, with the Asia-Pacific representing the second largest market, followed very closely by Europe,” said Teal Group senior analyst Steve Zaloga, another author of the 458-page study. “Africa and Latin America are expected to continue to be very modest markets for UAVs.”

The eighth edition of the sector study, World Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems, Market Profile and Forecast 2011, examines the worldwide requirements for UAVs, including UAV payloads and companies, and provides ten-year forecasts by country, region, and classes of UAVs.