C4I market worth $68 billion over next decade

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The C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) market will be worth at least $68 billion over the next decade, according to a new report, and is valued at $8 billion in 2016.

This is according to Forecast International’s recently released study, “The Market for C4I,” which examines 269 leading C4I programmes worldwide and reviews 30 companies involved in the production of C4I systems. It projects that these programmes will have a combined market value of at least $68.788 billion over the next 10 years.

The C4I market starts off at $8.186 billion in value in 2016 and increases to a forecast period peak of $8.678 billion in 2017. The market then begins a slow decline from $7.029 billion in 2018 to $5.519 billion in 2025. Much of this drop is due to the completion of several programs, including the PRC-117 and PRC-152 radio programmes. The projected 32.57 percent ($2.66 billion) decline in sales between 2016 and 2025 indicates that barely a third of the programs examined will be completed by the end of the 10-year forecast period, Forecast International said.

From civil disobedience to full-scale military intervention involving all-out war, world events continue to increase awareness of the critical role of C4I on the battlefield, according to Forecast International. Today, militaries share the front line of defence with intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and emergency services, with budgets reflecting the wide variety of systems and technologies currently available – including C4I systems.

The glut of oil, and the resulting drop in prices, has caused an economic fallout around the world as governments once again tighten the defence budget purse strings. However, C4I, specifically communications and networking systems, continues to be a primary focus of the overall defence electronics market. Defense products that facilitate the flow of information will remain profitable into the future, Forecast International predicts.

Based on the market as reviewed in the analysis, the top five C4I defense companies over the next 10 years in terms of sales volume and percent market share will be Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and General Dynamics.