AI and cloud computing focus of DoD C4ISR spending
NewsSeptember 10, 2020
SANTA CLARA, Calif. Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Assessment of the US DoD C4ISR Market, Forecast to 2025, highlights the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) budget spending and technology trends.
According to the study, the market spending for C4ISR programs is estimated to reach $58.50 billion by 2025 from $53.60 billion in 2019, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.5%. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the expenditure is not expected to create a long-term negative impact on the C4ISR program.
"C4ISR and IT industries are converging around artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data analysis, self-healing networks, and cloud computing," said Brad Curran, Aerospace & Defense Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Going forward, naval, airborne, and ground tactical networks are overly complex, making the networks too difficult to establish and defend. To resolve this problem, DoD requires integration and cybersecurity services from the defense industry."
Curran added: "Procurement will overtake research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) to take up the largest share of spending by 2024. It will primarily focus on manpack radio, fixed surveillance systems, naval IT networks, ship self-defense systems, anti-submarine warfare sensors, and deployable tactical networks. Further, the operations and maintenance department's spending will emphasize on service-wide communications, global early warning sensors and networks, cybersecurity, weather systems, and software/digital technology pilot programs."
The steady growth of the C4ISR budget spending presents growth prospects for its market participants, including Command and Control (C2) to Enable Collaboration, Communications to Enable Mission Execution, Computers to Enable Combat Systems, Intelligence to Enable Decision-Making, and Surveillance and Reconnaissance to Enable Situational Awareness.
