April 25, 2013
Commercial sector expected to realize significant portion of future IMINT demand
Commercial sector expected to realize significant portion of future IMINT demand
Paris, Montreal & Washington D.C., April 25, 2013 – According to Euroconsult's newly released research report, Earth Observation: Defense and Security, demand
for data to support imagery intelligence (IMINT) continues to grow
globally to support defense activities and military operations. However,
as a result of the relatively high cost to maintain and launch EO
defense satellites and the investment required to fund R&D, only 11
countries have developed EO defense capacity dedicated to supporting
IMINT.
“Since
only a few countries operate proprietary high-resolution satellites,
the commercial sector is expected to make up a significant part of
future demand for IMINT,” said Adam Keith, Director of Space and Earth
Observation at Euroconsult and Editor of the report.
The
number of unclassified defense and dual-use satellites launched by
these 11 countries totalled 75 over the past decade. This figure is
expected to rise to 100 satellites over 2013-2022, with a further three
countries launching dedicated capacity. With costs remaining high, and
budgets strained, development of dual-use
systems is therefore expected to increase, with costs spreading across
multiple government departments in order to fulfill the data
requirements of numerous public sectors, such as engineering,
infrastructure and resources monitoring. Further mechanisms to re-coup
system costs and/or to support national industry will include
commercialization of government satellites through dedicated data
distribution entities, such as those already observed in France and
Italy through the sale of data from their dual-use systems.
COMMERCIAL DATA MARKET TO SUPPORT DEFENSE TO TOP $2 BILLION IN 2022
In
2012, 67% ($990 million) of the total $1.5 billion EO commercial data
market was attributed to defense customers, realizing a CAGR of 20% over
the last five years. Of this $990 million, close to 50% is attributable
to the U.S. government, which, through the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (the NGA), represents the first customer
of commercial EO data. The increased level of procurement by the NGA
drove growth in the overall commercial data market from 2006 to 2010.
However, following the award of Enhanced View contracts to U.S.
operators and data providers (DigitalGlobe and GeoEye) in 2010, demand
stabilized, and indeed, U.S. procurement is expected to drop in 2013,
with Enhanced View impacted by austerity measures within the broader
U.S. government, prompting the merger of the two companies.
Growth
in the commercial data sector is now being driven by wider global sales
to defense users, particularly by countries with high IMINT
requirements and limited viable proprietary solutions. In order to meet
these needs, commercial operators are finding success in providing
direct access contracts to end-users, providing secure imagery access to
defense clients. With continued high demand, revenues from commercial
data sales to defense are expected to grow to $2.2 billion by 2022.
About the Report
Over
the last three years much has evolved in the wider defense environment.
Continued global unrest drives requirements for satellite imagery to
support defense applications, however this is being met by growing
economic pressures in leading economies (particularly in North America
and Europe) leading in the case of the U.S. to its support of the
commercial sector being revisited. In the second edition of
Euroconsult’s research report Earth Observation: Defense and Security,
government attitudes towards imagery acquisition and satellite
procurement are assessed in order to identify the preferred approaches
to meeting defense requirements globally and to identify opportunities and risks for the commercial data industry in these challenging economic times.
About Euroconsult
Euroconsult is the leading global consulting firm specializing in space markets. As a privately owned, fully independent firm, we provide first-class strategic consulting, develop comprehensive research and organize executive-level annual summits for the industry. With 30 years of experience, Euroconsult is trusted by over 560 clients in 50 countries. Euroconsult is headquartered in Paris, with offices in Montreal and Washington, D.C. www.euroconsult-ec.com.
Euroconsult is the leading global consulting firm specializing in space markets. As a privately owned, fully independent firm, we provide first-class strategic consulting, develop comprehensive research and organize executive-level annual summits for the industry. With 30 years of experience, Euroconsult is trusted by over 560 clients in 50 countries. Euroconsult is headquartered in Paris, with offices in Montreal and Washington, D.C. www.euroconsult-ec.com.
Press Contact: Nancy Essebag +1 (514) 303-0304 essebag@euroconsult-na.com
source: http://www.euroconsult-ec.com
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