Press Release

Contact: John Edwards, Space Systems Analyst

Phone: (203) 426-0800

Fax: (203) 426-4262

Web site: www.forecast1.com

E-mail: john.edwards@forecast1.com

Forecast International, Inc.

22 Commerce Rd. Newtown, CT  06470 USA

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

U.S. Space Dominance Drives Military Satellite Market

 

NEWTOWN, Conn. [April 7, 2005] —Some 118 dedicated military satellites worth $41 billion are earmarked for production over the next 10 years, according to Forecast International’s “Western Military Satellites: 2005-2014” report.  These systems range in size and price from the small and affordable French Spirale spacecraft to the large and expensive U.S. Wideband Gapfiller and Advanced EHF satellites.

 

The United States enjoys an asymmetrical advantage in the military space arena that either eliminates or promises to remove any tactical advantage an adversary might attempt to employ.  This lack of balance in the world military satellite inventory and in military space capabilities in general will drive the international military satellite market in the years to come. 

 

“Military satellite contracts are the lifeblood of manufacturers, as the commercial satellite industry continues to stagger through the land of no demand,” said John Edwards, Forecast International Space Systems Analyst.  This symbiotic relationship is especially powerful in the United States, where military space programs enjoy strong and steady streams of funding.  Even Pentagon programs that have experienced substantial cuts over the past few years are still robustly funded in comparison to European programs. 

 

In the United States alone, military contracts scheduled for the next 10 years but not yet awarded total more than $6 billion.  In addition, the massive GPS and Trans­formational Communications programs currently under way in the U.S. will provide a comparatively cushy fiscal pillow for local manufacturers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to fall back on during this prolonged commercial downturn.

 

“This reliance on military contracts is good for U.S. manufacturers,” Edwards said, “but it does not portend the same windfall for European manufacturers.” During the forecast period, European military satellite production is expected to account for 22 spacecraft worth just over $2.4 billion. In terms of this analysis, the $2.4 billion represents just 6 percent of the market share during the forecast period, while, in terms of production, the 22 spacecraft represent 19 percent of market share.

 

The use of space to obtain the ultimate high ground in military operations continues to grow, as measured not only in actual production of military space systems but also in the formulation of counterspace doctrines around the globe.  Military satellite communications, precision GPS-guided munitions, and optical and radar reconnaissance spacecraft are the new foot soldiers of the 21st century battlespace. Dependence on these systems has been firmly established in the United States and, to a limited extent, in Europe as well.

 

The market for military satellites will remain vigorous over the next decade as nations continue to seek the proliferation of space programs to augment their military for a tactical and strategic advantage.  In terms of unit production, the market for Western military satellites may be rather small compared with the commercial satellite market, which is geared primarily toward production of communications and remote sensing satellite constellations.  However, the increasingly high monetary value of these space systems, $345 million per unit on average, is attractive enough to draw the major aerospace and defense contractors to this market both in Europe and in the U.S. for years to come.