Airborne Tactical Radio Market Growth Analysis | 2025-2030

Attractive Opportunities

Global Demand Analysis & Sales Opportunities in Airborne Tactical Radio Market

• The annual demand for airborne tactical radio was USD 1.7 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 1.9 billion in 2025, up 9.0% than the value in 2024.
• During the forecast period (2025 to 2030), the airborne tactical radio market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1%. The annual demand will reach of USD 2.7 billion in 2030.
• During 2025-2030, the airborne tactical radio industry is expected to generate a cumulative sales opportunity of USD 14.11 billion.

High-Growth Market Segments:

• North America is expected to remain the largest market for structural core materials during the forecast period.
• By Device type, Air-Ground Radio is expected to remain the dominant as well as the fastest-growing device type in the market during the forecast period.
• By Frequency type, the VHF/UHF type is the most commonly used frequency type for airborne tactical radios.

Market Statistics

Have a look at the sales opportunities presented by the airborne tactical radio market in terms of growth and market forecast.

Market Dynamics

Introduction

What is an airborne tactical radio?

An airborne tactical radio is a communication system installed on military aircraft that enables secure, reliable, and real-time voice and data exchange during missions. It supports air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-sea communication, often featuring encryption, anti-jamming, and multi-band capabilities to ensure interoperability and effectiveness in combat and tactical operations.
 

Market Trends

Effective airborne communication has become one of the most powerful weapons in 21^st-century warfare. For an open battlefield situation, coordinated response to a static or mobile threat would involve the ground personnel, marine forces, and military aircraft. Better communication and support among these military assets would result in safe and efficient results. This calls for increased focus on the development of airborne tactical radios.

Due to the increase in terrorism and cross-border threats, many countries are currently focused on strengthening the defense and offense systems of their airborne, ground-based, and naval forces. The defense authorities are also engaged in the development and deployment of proper communication networks between the different platforms to ensure battlefield supremacy. Thus, the deployment and usage of airborne tactical radios is rapidly gaining momentum in recent years.

Moreover, there have been several investments in the defense industry directed at airborne tactical radios in recent years, which would boost the overall market. Some of them are:

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Market Drivers

• Rising Defense Modernization Programs
• Growing Need for Secure Communication
• Network-Centric Warfare (NCW) Adoption
• Increasing Cross-Border Threats & Geopolitical Tensions

Segment Analysis

By Device Type

"Air-ground radio is expected to remain the dominant as well as the fastest-growing device type in the market during the forecast period."

• The market is bifurcated into air-air radio and air-ground/ship radio. Air-ground radio is expected to remain the dominant as well as the fastest-growing device type in the market during the forecast period. As the demand for unprecedented air-ground interoperability is gaining momentum in recent years, there has been a progress in the sales of air-ground tactical radios to the defense authorities. These radios offer a smooth and effective channel for communication and also assist the aircrew during critical battlefield missions. As a result, the larger deployment of these radios by the military forces enables greater mission effectiveness, which also helps drive market growth.

By Frequency Type

"VHF/UHF type is the most commonly used frequency type for airborne tactical radios."

• The market is segmented as HF, VHF/UHF, and VHF/UHF with SATCOM. Among frequency types, VHF/UHF type is the most commonly used frequency type for airborne tactical radios. These radios are the most sought after by the armed forces as they provide better data throughputs as compared to the radios with other frequency types. Moreover, the VHF/UHF radios are suitable for long-range communication, due to which they are a popular choice in defense, particularly for air-ground communication.

Regional Insights

"North America is expected to remain the largest market for airborne tactical radios over the forecast period."

• In terms of region, North America is expected to remain the largest market for airborne tactical radios over the forecast period. This is due to the sheer presence of the leading companies in the market such as Raytheon Technologies Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Northrop Grumman, and BAE Systems, who are among the prime contractors for the US Department of Defense for airborne tactical radios. In addition, the US Air Force is the supreme air power and the US DoD is extensively investing in airborne communication to mark their dominance.
• Asia-Pacific is likely to witness the fastest market growth in the coming years due to the growing penetration of regional companies such as Hytera Communications Corporation Limited, Rolta India Limited, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), among others. Furthermore, the countries, such as China and India, have been increasing their annual military expenditure, which is comprehensively driving the regional market growth.

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Competitive Landscape

Most of the major players compete in some of the factors, including price, service offerings, regional presence, etc. The following are the key players in the airborne tactical radio market -  

• BAE Systems
• Raytheon Technologies Corporation
• L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co. KG
• Northrop Grumman

Note: The above list does not necessarily include all the top players in the market.

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Recent Developments/Mergers & Acquisitions:

• In September 2021, Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies Corporation) signed a three-year contract worth US$294.1 million, with the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), to provide 8,085 AN/ARC-210(v) radios that would be installed in more than 400 strategic and tactical airborne, seaborne, and land-based (mobile and fixed) platforms.
• In April 2021, Leonardo signed a contract with Boeing to provide its new software-defined radio, the SWave Airborne SDR SRT-800, for the fleet of E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The advanced airborne radio will provide secure and cyber-resilient air-to-air and air-to-ground connectivity for the AWACS fleet.
• In June 2019, L3Harris Technologies, Inc. signed a contract with the US Air Force (USAF) to develop a prototype for the L3Harris Falcon Wideband Airborne HF Radio.

Research Methodology

• This strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today’s airborne tactical radio market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period of 2025 to 2030.
• The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner in order to provide a panoramic view of the market.
• The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for the market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate the growth strategies to expedite their process.
• This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders, and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools.
• More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data.
• We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence most comprehensively. The report structure has been kept so that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into market dynamics and will enable strategic decision-making for existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market.

The following are the key features of the report:

• Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.
• Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.
• Market trend and forecast analysis.
• Market segment trend and forecast.
• Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, Service portfolio, New Product Launches, etc.
• COVID-19 impact and its recovery curve.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.
• Emerging trends.
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.
• Key success factors.

Market Segmentation

This report studies the market, covering a period of 15 years of trend and forecast. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision-making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

The airborne tactical radio market is segmented into the following categories:

Airborne Tactical Radio Market, by Device type

• Air-Air Radio
• Air-Ground/Ship Radio

Airborne Tactical Radio Market, by Frequency type

• HF
• VHF/UHF
• VHF/UHF with SATCOM

Airborne Tactical Radio Market, by Region type

• North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico)
• Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, The UK, Russia, and the Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: Japan, China, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Middle East, Latin America, and Others)

Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to three players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to three players)

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances

Custom Research: Stratview Research offers custom research services across the sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry to [email protected]