Lockheed Martin sees strong outlook for unmanned market

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market has grown sharply due to military purchases throughout the course of the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Lockheed Martin is banking on the UAV trend continuing despite the pending drawdown in those regions.

George Barton, Lockheed Martin vice president of ship and aviation systems business development for the company's Mission Systems & Sensors (MS2) business, told IHS Jane's that "time is definitely on the side of UAVs".

"In the near term, companies like Lockheed Martin come up with innovative ideas on how to increase those capabilities while decreasing costs for the customer," Barton said on 6 December.

Other industry executives have said they expect the drawdown in the Middle East and South Asia to bring about a correction in the UAV market. Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing's military aircraft business, said recently that Boeing analysts foresee "at least a 20% reduction" in the global unmanned aircraft market. During the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and its allies had the opportunity to experiment with unmanned systems and to try a variety of options, he said.