{"id":53721,"date":"2016-04-06T16:51:45","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T16:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2016\/04\/06\/reaper-demand-drives-uptick-in-air-force-uas-spending\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:00:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:00:42","slug":"reaper-demand-drives-uptick-in-air-force-uas-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2016\/04\/06\/reaper-demand-drives-uptick-in-air-force-uas-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaper Demand Drives Uptick in Air Force UAS Spending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The Air Force edged out the Army as the leader in unmanned systems procurement in recent years, a shift driven in part by increasing demand for General Atomics&#8217; MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman&#8217;s Global Hawk, according to a new study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The uptick in Air Force spending on unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, is part of a recent rebound in overall Defense Department investment in unmanned\u00a0after a peak in fiscal 2012, according to a recent report by business intelligence provider Govini. Despite war drawdown and sequestration cuts, the UAS market saw a 6 percent compound annual growth rate in the last five years, according to the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That rebound in UAS spending\u00a0is driven primarily by\u00a0the pivot to the Asia Pacific region,\u00a0where surveillance missions over vast distances\u00a0are crucial, and preparation for the so-called &#8220;Third Offset&#8221; technology push,\u00a0according to Govini CEO and founder Eric\u00a0Gillespie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In preparation for the Third Offset, preparation for unmanned systems is becoming even more vital to the long-term strategy,&#8221; said Gillespie\u00a0in an<span class=\"rte rte-comment\">an\u00a0April 6<\/span> interview Wednesday.\u00a0&#8220;We\u2019re seeing resources allocated and assets allocated to Third Offset preparation.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another factor is the growing sophistication of these systems and their performance in conflicts in the Middle East over the past decade, Gillespie\u00a0said. UAS have &#8220;proven their value to the DoD&#8221; in the last 10 years, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I think you&#8217;re seeing a double effect \u2014 UAS technology is getting more sophisticated, and as more of the burden of operations shift from boots on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan to more maritime surveillance in Asia, we&#8217;re seeing more acquisition of larger platforms like the Reaper and carrier-launched UAVs by the Navy and Air Force, rather than hand-launched equipment,&#8221;\u00a0Gillespie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the Air Force, investment is primarily in large platforms like the Reaper and Global Hawk for surveillance missions. The Air Force spent $1 billion in FY15 alone on UAS, mainly on acquisition of these systems, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investment in Reaper and related services represents a full 25 percent of all UAS defense awards, an increae from 9 percent in FY12, according to the study. \u00a0Gillespie chalked this\u00a0up to increasing demand for larger surveillance platforms, driven by the shift to the Asia Pacific region and the\u00a0Third Offset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, General Atomics dominates the UAS market, owning more than a third of the defense market at more than $4 billion, the report states. Northrop is a distant second, with less than half that capture. Combined, these top two vendors account for more than 50 percent of the UAS market, according to the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coming in at third and fourth, Textron owns 10 percent of the market, while Boeing has 7 percent, said\u00a0Gillespie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">General Atomics&#8217; clear dominance of the UAS market may make the company a target for acquisition by one of the bigger industry players,\u00a0Gillespie noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The way the market is evolving and given the consolidation of the market today, they own a platform or a set of platforms that should be of great interest to the others players in the market,&#8221; Gillespie\u00a0said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Email:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:lseligman@defensenews.com\">lseligman@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twitter:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/laraseligman\" target=\"_blank\">@laraseligman<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Air Force edged out the Army as the leader in unmanned systems procurement in recent years, a shift driven in part by increasing demand for General Atomics\u2019 MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman\u2019s Global Hawk, according to a new study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,33],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1820],"class_list":["post-53721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-home"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"N6QNJHQPDRAOBINFSITZOTCRZY","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2016\/04\/06\/reaper-demand-drives-uptick-in-air-force-uas-spending\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This 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