The satellites to be developed and procured with this funding will range in size from large military satcoms such as the Wideband Global Satcom and Advanced EHF to the relatively small ELISA electronic intelligence satellite.

These are among the findings of FI's recent analysis, "The Market for Military Satellites." The report maintains that the U.S. military satellite market will continue to remain in sharp contrast to European markets during the decade.

This dominance will be based on the vast financial requirements anticipated for the transformational process, in addition to the high-priority reconnaissance and defense programs under way within the United States.

At the same time, Forecast International expects that the ongoing trend of consolidation of European nations' satellite efforts, combined with increased military use of civil remote-sensing systems, will limit production opportunities in that region.

The analysis projects that military satellite production in Europe, Japan and Israel will account for 27 spacecraft representing approximately 28.4 percent of the market covered in the report. In terms of value, production in those regions is expected to be worth $5.2 billion, or approximately 17 percent of market share.

Among notable indicators, in the United States, over $5 billion in military satellite production scheduled for the forecast period has yet to be contracted.

In addition, the massive GPS and Transformational Communications programs currently under way in the United States will provide a comparatively cushy fiscal pillow for local manufac-turers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman to fall back on during the current commercial downturn.

"In terms of unit production within the United States, Lockheed Martin outpaces its competitors as the number-one military satellite manufacturer in the world over the next 10 years," said John Edwards, Forecast International senior analyst and author of the study. Lockheed Martin is building the Advanced EHF constellation GPS III, the Navy's Mobile User Objective System, and the SBIRS High system.

The United States enjoys an advantage in the military space arena second to none, according to the report, and accounts for nearly 90 percent of global military space spending.

"This lack of balance in the world military satellite inventory and in military space capabilities as a whole is driving this dynamic market, and therefore the militarization of space will continue to be a vigorous and lucrative market." Edwards said.

Unlike the market for commercial systems, military markets are less exposed to risk when it comes to the ebb and tide of the consumer, which in this case is the military itself. "Therefore, manufacturers of these systems - especially in the United States - can look forward to a strong military satellite market over the next decade," said Edwards.

Related Links
Forecast International
Military Space News at SpaceWar.com

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