Aircraft Antenna Market

^{_{Updated on : Nov 06, 2024}}

The Aircraft Antenna Market size is projected to reach USD 0.9 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. The growth of the Aircraft Antenna Industry is mainly driven by increase in airspace modernization programs, increase in demand for military UAVs and introduction of advanced aircraft systems.

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COVID-19 Impact on the Aircraft Antenna Market

The aircraft antenna market includes major players L3Harris Technologies Inc. (US), Honeywell International (US), Collins Aerospace (US), Cobham Limited (UK), and The Boeing Company (US). These players have spread their business across various countries including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect aircraft antenna production and services by 7–10% globally in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the end-use industries adversely, resulting in a sudden dip in 2020 aircraft orders and deliveries. This is expected to negatively impact the aircraft market in the short term, with slow recovery expected in Q1 of 2021.

Aircraft Antenna Market Dynamics

Drivers: Increasing airspace modernization programs

Airspace modernization programs lead to the demand for advanced aircraft antennas in new aircraft. These aircraft antennas are also likely to be installed in existing fleets as part of retrofit activities. For instance, the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR), an airspace modernization program adopted by European nations, focuses on improving air traffic management (ATM) and installing innovative solutions to eliminate inefficiencies such as undesired route extensions of up to 50 km and unnecessary delays of around 10 minutes per flight in European air traffic. Advanced aircraft antennas will be installed in aircraft to reduce such inefficiencies. Such airspace modernization programs will lead to an increased demand for aircraft antennas, fueling the growth of the market in the near future.

Opportunities: Adoption of 5G in aviation industry

Installation of 5G at airports will provide ultra-high-speed internet connectivity to air passengers. Number of airports across the globe are spending heavily to upgrade their existing infrastructure. Recently, in 2020, Infocomm Media Development Authority (Ministry of Communications and Information under Singapore government), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, and M1 (Singaporean telecommunications company) announced the partnership with aviation giant Airbus (airline manufacturer headquartered in Leiden, Netherlands) for one-year flight trial to test Airbus drones’ capability to be remotely controlled over 5G mobile networks for the inspection and management of port incidents. In addition, this collaboration will establish key cellular 5G performance required to enable unmanned aircraft operations and their safe integration & flight in airspace systems. Further, 5G networks promise lower latency and higher surfing speeds than their 4G predecessors, which is expected to translate to more precise, safe, and reliable communications for unmanned aircraft operations. Hence, adoption of 5G in aviation industry is expected to boost the global 5G distributed antenna system in the aviation market.

Challenges: High manufacturing cost and designing constraints

The high cost of development of new technologies for aircraft antennas is the major challenge faced by leading players operating in the aircraft antenna market. This has slowed down the overall growth of the market across the globe. Aircraft antennas and their sub-components, being high precision and quality products that meet various government safety standards, use expensive technologies, thereby increasing the price of the final product.

Increasing need for short-range surveillance and tracking is expected to fuel the growth of the VHF & UHF band segment in the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period.

The VHF & UHF band segment is estimated to lead the market during the forecast period, with a share of 30% in 2021. VHF & UHF (very high frequency and ultra-high frequency) bands are used for short-range aircraft navigation and communication, enabling an aircraft to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted through a network from a ground location. This band is used for communication in the line-of-sight range.

The Terminal Wireless Local Area Network segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on application, the Terminal Wireless Local Area Network segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. A Terminal Wireless Local Area Network functions with the help of a small compliant transceiver that supports multiple high-speed wireless protocols. This multi-protocol support enables the operation of the GateSync system at airports across the world. The system enables airlines to wirelessly load and offload content and data while the aircraft is on the ground.

The microstrip antenna segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on antenna type, the microstrip antenna segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. Microstrip antennas are popular owing to their low manufacturing cost and ease of fabrication and integration with circuit components. These antennas are lightweight and can be easily mounted on the surface of aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, missiles, and even on handheld mobile devices.

The nose mounted segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on installation, the nose mounted segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. In most military and commercial aircraft, the nose cone also shelters radar antennas and other equipment that are used for the detection of meteorological phenomena, enemy aircraft, and the transmission of communication signals. In the nose section, the antennas installed are weather radar, glideslope, and localizers.

The OEM segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on the end user, the OEM segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. Technological advancements and the need for better connectivity and communication in the aviation industry are additional factors influencing the growth of the aircraft antenna market.

The UAV segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on aircraft type, the UAV segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft antenna market during the forecast period. The increasing applicability of UAVs in the defense sector has boosted the aircraft antenna market. UAVs have less demanding flight profiles and environmental standard requirements than manned aircraft, and hence, the antennas used in UAVs are smaller and have lower mass as compared to those used in manned aircraft.

The North American market is projected to contribute the largest share

The key factor responsible for North America leading the aircraft antennas market is the high demand for new aircraft in the region. The growing demand for aircraft for commercial applications and their increasing utility in the defense sector to carry out transport and surveillance activities are additional factors influencing the growth of the North American aircraft antenna market.

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The Aircraft Antenna Companies are dominated by a few globally established players such as L3Harris Technologies Inc. (US), Honeywell International (US), Collins Aerospace (US), Cobham Limited (UK), and The Boeing Company (US).

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Scope of the Report

The study categorizes the aircraft antenna based on frequency,  application, antenna type, aircraft type, installation, end user, and region.

By Frequency

• VHF/UHF band
• Ku/Ka/K band
• HF band
• X band
• C band
• L band
• Others

By Application

• Radar Antenna
• Instrument Landing
  System (ILS)
• Terminal Wireless Local Area Network (TW-LAN)
• Air Traffic Control / Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (ATC/TCAS)
• Radio Altimeter
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Very High Frequency(VHF)
• Terminal Cellular System(TCS)
• Automatic Direction Finder(ADF)
• SATCOM
• Crew Wireless LAN Unit
• Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
• High Frequency Radio (HF)
• VHF Omnidirectional Range(VOR)
• Tactical Air Navigation System (TANS)
• Others

By Antenna Type

• Aperture Antenna
• Microstrip Antenna
• Array Antenna
• Wire Antenna

By Aircraft Type

• Fixed Wing
• Rotary Wing
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
• Advanced Air Mobility

By Installation

• Nose Mounted
• Tail Mounted
• Fuselage Mounted

By End User

• OEM
• Aftermarket

By Region

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Africa

Recent Developments

• In November 2021, L3Harris developed a series of planar spiral antennas used for detection of broadband signals having various polarizations. The company builds antennas in the 18 to 100 GHz millimeter-wave frequency range for a range of military end-users. The millimeter product line highlights ½” and ¾” Archimedean spiral antennas as well as MMW horn antennas for direction finding (DF) and electronic attack.
• In October 2021, L3Harris Technologies will modernize the US Air Force B-52 aircraft to protect aircrew from enemy radar threats under a new 10-year, sole-source USD 947 million IDIQ contract.
• In January 2020, Cobham became a standalone business in the Cobham Group under the ownership of Advent International.

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