Market Highlights

The global military laser designator market was valued at US$ 45.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% from 2022 to 2028, reaching US$ ~56.4 billion.

Military Laser Designator Market CAGR

2022-2028

CAGR OF

6.9%

Military Laser Designator Market

A military laser designator, or laser light source, is used to indicate a target. Using laser designators, the armed forces can target missiles, artillery rounds, or laser-guided bombs. When a designator labels a target, the beam does not flash continuously and is undetectable. Instead, a series of coded laser light pulses is launched. The seeker on the laser-guided bombs tracks these signals as they fly through the atmosphere and aims itself at the center of the signal that is reflected. It is quite difficult for anyone to determine if they are being targeted unless they have access to laser detecting equipment or can hear planes overhead.

The armed forces' growing use of lasers for target identification and range, defensive countermeasures, communications, and directed energy weapons is a major factor propelling the military laser designator industry.
In addition, military forces use lasers for holographic weapon sights, energy weapons, defensive countermeasures, target disorientation, target guiding, and a host of other purposes. All of these elements work as market stimulants for military laser designators. Furthermore, the risk to the operators' or pilots' lives is decreased when employing unmanned electronic warfare systems like laser weapons, and the systems' extended endurance duration offers noticeably superior coverage compared to conventional manned aerial vehicles. Laser designators have been successfully implemented into large UAVs such as the Global Hawk and the Predator.
In order to reduce their weight and make them suitable for deployment on small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), major military laser designator vendors have also turned their focus to the development of smaller laser designators. These developments in aerial systems will lead to an expansion of the military laser designator market.

The primary function of a laser designator is target location. It facilitates the targeting of precision artillery rounds, missiles, and laser-guided bombs. There is a greater need than ever for unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. This is one of the main factors driving the military laser designator market worldwide. Unmanned aircraft systems find wide applications in the military, business, and public domains. The employment of laser designators in electronic warfare systems decreases the risk to the operators' and pilots' lives. Its coverage area is also larger than that of conventional manned aerial vehicles. The factor is expected to boost the military laser designator market in the upcoming years.

Military Laser Designator Market

By End User

Military & Defense

Internal Security

The Market will Grow

At the CAGR of:

6.9%

The Forecast Market

Size for 2028 in USD:

$56.4B

Acceptance of new advances in computerized combat has led to improvements in lightweight laser designators since they enable quick troop mobility and reduce fighter fatigue. According to news supplied by Endeavor Business Media, LLC, a ten-year endeavor to construct an electro-optical, all-weather, day-and-night target assignment and laser range locater framework has commenced. This program considers lightweight laser designators and their increased performance. Due to their historical construction methods and blueprints, modern laser designators are disproportionately big, expensive, and heavy. In order to develop economical and lightweight laser designator modules for use in micro UAV and UGV stages and adaptive trooper frameworks, fabrication procedures must be enhanced. In order to produce large cash in the approaching years, major corporations are embracing new technologies recognised employing laser designators. Basically, a laser designator is used to locate an item. It helps focus on laser-guided bombs, rockets, and precise gunnery. Utilizing a laser designator in an electronic battle system decreases the risk to the administrators' and pilots' lives. Its reach is also greater than that of traditional monitored elevated vehicles. The factor is expected to boost the military laser designator market in the upcoming years.
Because thermal lasers are man-portable, lightweight, and provide laser designating (2-4 kg), their application is growing. The energy output and portability of these lasers set them apart from the rest. Leonardo has launched the field-proven Type 163 laser target designator for accurately marking and commanding Semi Active Air to Ground missiles onto the target at up to 10 km distances. This device is specifically made to fulfill all of the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) and JFO mission requirements for today's special and conventional forces.

The Airborne and Space Systems Division has developed a new generation of thermal lasers that have less divergence and more than 70mJ per pulse. NATO STANAG 3733 with full functionality in a compact, light, low-power design.
Laser designators can only function under clear weather conditions. Reliable target determination can be hampered or impossible by cloud cover, rain, or smoke, unless a simulation is accessible through currently available ground data. This is the primary factor impeding the military laser designator market growth.

Recent years have seen a number of directives and investments in the sector that should expand the military laser designator market as a whole. Among them are: • Since lightweight laser designators enable quick troop mobility and reduce warrior fatigue, their performance has improved as a result of new innovations in computerized battle. According to news supplied by Endeavor Business Media, LLC, a ten-year endeavor to construct an electro-optical, all-weather, day-and-night target assignment and laser range locater framework has commenced. This program considers lightweight laser designators and their increased performance. Due to their historical construction methods and blueprints, modern laser designators are disproportionately big, expensive, and heavy. Fabrication techniques need to be developed in order to generate lightweight and inexpensive laser designator modules for use in small UAV and UGV stages and flexible trooper frameworks.

Market Segment Analysis

The military laser designator market is divided into ground-based and airborne segments according on the type. Man-portable and vehicle-mounted are two more categories under ground-based operations. Airborne is divided into unmanned aerial vehicles, airplanes, and rockets and missiles.

Military Laser Designator Market

By Type

XX%

Air-borne

Grounded

45.9

Total Market Size

USD (Billion), 2022

6.9%

CAGR

2022 - 2028

The military laser designator market is divided into domestic security and military & defense segments based on the End User.
Geographically, the largest market share in 2020 was held by North America. The region is also expected to grow at the fastest rate throughout the predicted period because to the substantial demand from the United States. There are a lot of aircraft manufacturers around that are putting military laser designators on their new competition aircraft. In helicopters and airplanes, the advantages of laser designators are becoming more common. While civilian laser designators are more frequently utilized for national security, military laser designators are being employed by soldiers and fighters more frequently. Furthermore, it is estimated that the military laser designator market would be impacted during the forecast period of time by an increase in spending on creative work activities in the aviation and security sectors.

Military Laser Designator Market

By Region

The Market will Grow

At the CAGR of:

6.9%

The Forecast Market

Size for 2028 in USD:

$56.4B

Key Players

The military laser designator market for military laser designators is highly competitive. The state of the sector and government assistance have a direct impact on the companies' growth. Based on their quality and market presence in both target and emerging markets, these firms set themselves apart with their military laser designators. Additionally, a few recent large mergers and acquisitions in the sector have had a big impact on the competitive dynamics. To research DEW demonstration technologies in land and marine contexts, for instance, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded three teams, led by BAE Systems plc, Thales Group, and Raytheon Systems Corporation, a series of four-year contracts totaling USD 100 million in September 2021.
These mergers and acquisitions have had an impact on the competitive landscape as a whole. The major players in the military laser designator market are as follows: General Atomics, L3 Technologies, Inc., RPMCA Systems, UTC Aerospace Systems, Leonardo S.p.A., FLIR Systems, Inc., Alpha Design Technologies Pvt Ltd., Elbit Systems Ltd., Thales Group, Northrop Grumman Corporation, and UTC Aerospace Systems

Military Laser Designator Market Scope: