Defense Budget Cuts and the Global Economic Crisis not Expected to Affect growth of the Global Soldier Modernization Market

Sunday 6 May 2012, Amsterdam

The soldier modernization market consists of five system categories: C4ISR based soldier modernization systems, Mobility based soldier modernization systems , Lethality based soldier modernization systems, Survivability based soldier modernization systems and Sustainability based soldier modernization systems.The value of the market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.07% during the forecast period (reference see graph).

Demand for technologically advanced soldier modernization equipment is anticipated to rise in the forecast period
The global defense industry is investing significantly in R&D in an effort to increase the capabilities of modern soldiers. This has led to the development of new and ground breaking soldier modernization technologies which have enhanced the survivability, lethality, mobility and equipment sustainability capabilities of the individual soldier. Current innovations are oriented towards integrating information flow from various command stations into a single module while incorporating the information provided by individual soldiers on the field so as to aid the decision making capabilities of infantry battalions. The highest defense spending countries are now focusing on building smaller infantries with enhanced survivability and lethality in order to derive maximum effectiveness from troop deployment. This has led countries like the US, the UK and France to invest in equipment such as Buffalo Mine Protected Clearance Vehicles, Vehicle Optics Sensor Systems (VOSS) and Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Devices.

Defense budget cuts and the global economic crisis not expected to affect growth of the global soldier modernization market
The global economic slowdown has reduced the defense budgets of most leading spenders in the world, including the US, France, Germany and the UK. These countries have cut back spending in various defense sectors such as space, aircraft and vehicles. Conversely, they have diverted funds towards sectors where rapid technology development and deployment is possible such as soldier modernization, C4ISR and cyber warfare. High growth markets such as the BRIC nations have been formulating continuous programs to procure the latest soldier modernization systems and have been investing extensively on R&D for the past 5 years. With continuous evolution and technological developments taking place in the soldier modernization domain, this trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period.