Military
Unmanned Military Weapons to Hit 93,000 Within 10 Years
Published:
Last Updated:
The use of ground forces, fighter bombers and surveillance planes will be obsolete, when it comes to many of the tasks they perform. They will be replaced, in many cases by 63,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and 30,000 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), within 10 years. The industries that make these weapons will benefit by tens of billions of dollars.
Military research firm IHS says that some of these will replace people on “dangerous” missions. At the far end of the spectrum, they will replace people who perform boring military tasks. In both cases, jobs will disappear when it comes to tactical activities performed by humans.
Describing the evolution, Derrick Maple, principal analyst for unmanned systems at IHS, commented: “Unmanned military ground, sea and air vehicle technology is evolving rapidly and we are seeing strong growth across all three sectors over the next five to ten years.” This will drive UAV sales to total of $82 billion worldwide, a windfall to the military arms sector. UGV sales will top $5 billion over the same period.
IHSÂ does not have a road map for exactly what these new smart machines will do, but it does have a cause for their growth:
Unmanned systems provide operational differentiation and those forces that do not invest in this capability will be at a significant disadvantage. With technology advancing at such a pace, a myriad of applications will unfold limited only by the imagination of the designer.
In other words, their evolution will be created by missions that may not exist now, or ones that allow for changes in whether they can be performed by man or machine.
The foundation of the growth in these devices is largely built on their use in geographically widespread wars, particularly those in Afghanistan and Iraq. Based on an IHSÂ assessment, the methods for fighting in those conflicts will change at a radical level.
Smart Investors Are Quietly Loading Up on These “Dividend Legends” (Sponsored)
If you want your portfolio to pay you cash like clockwork, it’s time to stop blindly following conventional wisdom like relying on Dividend Aristocrats. There’s a better option, and we want to show you. We’re offering a brand-new report on 2 stocks we believe offer the rare combination of a high dividend yield and significant stock appreciation upside. If you’re tired of feeling one step behind in this market, this free report is a must-read for you.
Click here to download your FREE copy of “2 Dividend Legends to Hold Forever” and start improving your portfolio today.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.