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How Record Defense Spending Is Reshaping Procurement, the Industrial Base and the Balance Between Exquisite and Affordable Systems

Mobility Foresights Aerospace & Defense Research | Hub Analysis | September 2026

The defense market has entered its strongest growth period since the end of the Cold War. According to SIPRI, world military expenditure reached about $2.7 trillion in 2024, the steepest annual rise in more than three decades. At their 2025 summit, NATO allies committed to raise defense and security-related spending toward 5% of GDP by 2035. Three lessons from recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Red Sea are shaping how that money is spent:

• Munitions are consumed far faster than peacetime stockpiles assumed.
• Inexpensive drones can impose very high costs on expensive defensive systems.
• Resilient supply chains matter as much as advanced platforms.

This hub brings together 99 Mobility Foresights market studies across ten areas: missiles and precision strike; hypersonics and counter-hypersonic defense; rockets and artillery; ammunition and munitions production; uncrewed systems; directed energy and air and missile defense; armored vehicles; naval platforms; navigation and PNT; and the defense industrial base.

Key Takeaways

• Magazine depth is the new procurement priority. Multiyear contracts and capacity investment in missiles, rockets and artillery shells are expanding the industrial base for the first time in decades.
• The cost-exchange problem is driving new categories. Counter-drone systems, gun-based defenses, lasers and high-power microwaves aim to defeat cheap threats without spending expensive interceptors.
• Missile defense is expanding into space. Space-based sensing and national-scale air and missile defense initiatives are opening large multi-year programs.
• Uncrewed systems are shifting from niche to mass. Loitering munitions, surface and undersea drones and jam-resistant fiber-optic drones are now core capabilities.
• Supply-chain security is a strategic constraint. Export restrictions on critical minerals and microelectronics have made sourcing diversification a funded priority.

How We Segment Defense Weapons and Platforms

1. Missiles and Precision Strike

Precision-guided weapons are at the center of rearmament budgets, and the constraint is production capacity rather than technology. Our precision-guided munitions (PGM) market report sizes the category and its supply chain, from microelectronics to energetics. The joint air-to-surface standoff missile market and subsonic cruise missile market studies cover long-range strike weapons that governments have moved to multiyear procurement to secure supply.

Four reports cover the subsystem supply chain:

• The embedded guidance electronics and seeker systems market report covers guidance electronics and seekers.
• The semi-active laser (SAL) sensor market and semi-active laser guidance system market studies cover laser-guided targeting.
• The missile warhead system market report covers warhead supply.
• The divert and attitude control systems (DACS) propulsion market study covers maneuvering propulsion used in interceptors and kill vehicles.

The air-to-ground anti-radiation missile (ARM) market report covers weapons designed to suppress air defenses, a mission with renewed priority after recent conflicts.

2. Hypersonics and Counter-Hypersonic Defense

Hypersonic weapons, which travel above five times the speed of sound and maneuver in flight, have become a central focus of U.S., Chinese and Russian programs. Our hypersonic weapons systems and defense interceptors market report tracks the global R&D pipeline and funding. The hypersonic missile propulsion market, hypersonic guidance and control systems market and hypersonic flight test sensors market studies cover the propulsion, guidance and test-infrastructure segments that pace these programs.

Defending against hypersonic threats requires tracking them from space, because ground radars see them late. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor program exemplifies the shift. Four reports cover the defensive side:

• Our hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor market report covers space-based tracking.
• The counter-hypersonic early warning and tracking technologies market study covers early-warning systems.
• The hypersonic defense systems market report covers the full sensor, interceptor and tracking-constellation stack.

3. Rockets, Artillery and Precision Fires

Rocket artillery has been one of the most visible success stories of recent conflict, and demand has driven manufacturers to expand production lines. Two reports cover the launchers and rounds:

• The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System market report covers launcher demand.
• The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System market study covers the rounds they fire.

Four reports cover guided and extended-range artillery:

• The guided rocket and smart munition market report covers guided rockets and smart munitions.
• The precision-guided artillery ammunition market study covers precision artillery rounds.
• The extended-range and ramjet artillery ammunition market report covers longer-range rounds, which are growing as armies seek to outrange opponents.
• The advanced munitions and precision guided artillery systems market study provides the integrated system-level view.

4. Ammunition and Munitions Production

Artillery consumption in Ukraine exposed how far Western production capacity had fallen. Governments responded with capacity programs, including European initiatives to scale shell output and a U.S. Army goal of sharply higher monthly 155 mm production. Three reports cover demand:

• Our large caliber ammunition market report covers artillery and tank ammunition.
• The medium caliber ammunition market study covers cannon rounds.
• The small-caliber and medium-caliber ammunition modernization market report covers new calibers and rounds being fielded.

Production technology is the constraint:

• The munitions manufacturing automation market report covers robotics and digital controls in energetics and metal-parts plants.
• The missiles and munition fuses market study covers fuzes, a frequent supply bottleneck.
• The weapon muzzle velocity sensors market report covers sensors used for fire-control accuracy and quality assurance.
• The GPS-guided ammunition market report covers guided rounds that reduce rounds needed per target.
• The low-collateral damage engagement solutions market study covers precise, low-yield options for use near civilians and infrastructure.
• The thermobaric weapon market report covers this munition category and its procurement and regulatory context.

5. Uncrewed and Autonomous Systems

Drones have moved from supporting role to mass-employed weapon. Initiatives such as the U.S. Department of Defense's Replicator program aimed to field large numbers of low-cost autonomous systems quickly. Four reports cover the air segment:

• Our reusable loitering munition system market report covers loitering munitions that can return if no target is engaged.
• The fiber-optic guided drone system market study covers drones controlled through a physical fiber link, which cannot be jammed by radio-frequency electronic warfare.
• The stealth drone and low-observable UAV platform market report covers low-observable platforms.
• The HALE and solar-powered defense UAV market study covers long-endurance surveillance platforms.

Uncrewed systems are spreading to land and sea:

• The defense uncrewed surface vehicle market report covers naval drones, which have shown they can threaten warships in the Black Sea.
• The amphibious unmanned ground vehicle (AUGV) market study covers amphibious ground robots.
• The military robots market report sizes military robotics across logistics, explosive ordnance disposal and reconnaissance.
• The autonomous cyber-secure drone system market study covers drones hardened against hacking and hijacking.

The autonomous weapons systems (AWS) market report covers the autonomy category within the policy framework that governs it, including the U.S. requirement for appropriate human judgment over the use of force and ongoing international discussions.

6. Directed Energy, Air and Missile Defense

Integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) is one of the largest growth areas in defense. It is driven by missile and drone attacks on cities and ships, and by national-scale initiatives such as the U.S. Golden Dome concept announced in 2025. Three reports cover the architecture:

• Our missile defense command systems (IAMD platforms) market report covers command systems.
• The integrated air and missile defense dome market study covers national and city-scale layered defense architectures.
• The medium-range anti-air weapon system market report covers the mid-tier layer.

Space is becoming part of missile defense:

• The space-based missile defense market report covers the overall architecture.
• The space-based missile defense interceptor system market study focuses on interceptors deployed in orbit.
• The next-generation geosynchronous satellites for missile defense market report covers early-warning satellites replacing legacy constellations.

Cheap drones make expensive interceptors unsustainable, which is why directed energy is moving toward deployment:

• The laser-based defense system market report covers high-energy lasers.
• The high-power microwave directed energy weapon market study covers microwaves that can disable drone swarms.
• The directed energy tracking and fire control market report covers the pointing and tracking subsystems both depend on.
• The AI-powered counter-drone system market study covers detection, classification and defeat of small drones.

7. Armored Vehicles and Land Combat Systems

Armies are replacing Cold War vehicle fleets while adapting them to drone and anti-tank threats. Our armored vehicle modernization programs across top 25 militaries report maps tank, infantry fighting vehicle and MRAP programs worldwide. The U.S. Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), which replaces the M113, is one of the largest such programs. Seven reports cover its subsystem markets:

• The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle market report covers the platform as a whole.
• The AMPV crew protection market study covers crew protection.
• The AMPV vetronics, electrical architecture and cyber-hardening market report covers onboard electronics and cyber protection.
• The AMPV communications and battlefield networking market study covers communications.
• The AMPV situational awareness and sensors market report covers sensors.
• The AMPV weapon systems and protection effectors market study covers weapons and protection effectors.
• The AMPV mission payload modules market report covers mission modules.

Survivability is the dominant theme:

• The armored combat vehicle survivability systems market report covers the full survivability stack.
• The armored vehicle protection system market study covers armor and protection systems.
• The active protection systems (APS) and counter-drone defense market report covers systems that intercept incoming anti-tank rounds and drones.
• The military active-protection vetronics market study covers the vehicle electronics that integrate them.

Firepower and fire control:

• The medium-caliber remote turret systems market report covers remotely operated turrets.
• The medium caliber cannon market study covers vehicle cannon.
• The networked fire control and sensor fusion systems for land combat market report covers fire control.
• The armored vehicle optical sensor market study covers sights and cameras.

Other land-systems reports:

• The electric and hybrid powertrain systems for military ground vehicles market report covers silent watch, fuel savings and onboard power.
• The military ground vehicle actuator market study covers actuators.
• The amphibious armored combat vehicles market report covers amphibious combat vehicles.
• The counter-insurgency (COIN) and urban warfare technologies market study covers technologies for irregular and urban operations.

8. Naval Platforms and Undersea Warfare

Naval competition in the Indo-Pacific and attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are driving fleet expansion and close-in defense investment. Two reports map the programs:

• Our naval modernization and multi-domain maritime defense programs market report maps programs across the top 25 navies.
• The naval modernization programs and future surface combatants market study focuses on new frigates and destroyers.

Close-in defense is growing fastest:

• The naval close-in weapon system (CIWS) market report sizes close-in weapon systems.
• The CIWS upgrade and retrofit market study covers upgrades to the installed base.
• The shipboard air defense gun market and naval gun system market reports cover the gun systems that offer a cheaper answer to drone and missile threats.
• The electromagnetic railguns and next-generation naval artillery system market study covers longer-term naval fires research.

Undersea warfare is the strategic core:

• The nuclear submarine industrial base market report covers the shipyards and suppliers under pressure from U.S. production goals and the AUKUS partnership.
• The autonomous undersea warfare systems market study covers uncrewed undersea vehicles.
• The naval autonomous mine countermeasure systems market report covers mine countermeasures.
• The naval combat management systems market study covers the software that integrates a warship's sensors and weapons.

9. Navigation and PNT Resilience

GPS jamming and spoofing have become routine in conflict zones and now affect civil aviation in several regions. This has made resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) a defense priority. Four reports cover the core of the market:

• Our resilient PNT system market report sizes the category.
• The military GNSS anti-jamming system market and GNSS anti-jam receiver sensors market studies cover protected satellite-navigation receivers.
• The reprogrammable PNT satellite market report covers satellites whose signals can be updated in orbit.

When satellite navigation is denied, platforms fall back on inertial and alternative navigation:

• The interferometric fiber optic gyros (IFOGs) market report covers high-precision gyroscopes.
• The resilient UAV navigation market and AI-enabled flight navigation systems market studies cover vision-based and AI navigation for drones and aircraft.
• The AI-enabled mission planning and autonomous navigation systems for defense market report covers mission planning.
• Platform-specific reports cover the armored vehicles navigation systems market, the naval navigation and communication system market, the naval aviation navigation systems market, the tactical navigation solutions for uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) market and the hypersonic navigation systems market.

10. Defense Industrial Base and Sustainment

China's export controls on gallium and germanium (2023), antimony (2024) and several rare earths (2025) showed how exposed defense supply chains are to critical materials. Four reports cover the resulting diversification:

• Our alternative sourcing outside China for 100+ defense components report maps alternative suppliers component by component.
• The military microelectronics and radiation-hardened components supply chain study covers the chip supply behind guidance, communications and space systems.
• The military logistics automation and autonomous supply chain system market report covers automated and autonomous logistics.
• The military land systems MRO market study covers maintenance and repair of a vehicle fleet being worked harder than planned.

The defense microgrid and tactical energy systems market report covers the power systems that reduce fuel convoys and support energy-hungry sensors and directed energy at forward bases.

Where Value Is Created: The Defense Value Chain

Regional perspective

• United States. The largest defense budget, focused on missile defense, munitions capacity, the submarine industrial base and space.
• Europe. The fastest growth in spending as NATO members move toward new targets, with priority on air defense, ammunition and armored vehicles and growing emphasis on European production.
• Asia-Pacific. Rising naval, missile and air-defense investment in Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and Taiwan. South Korea has emerged as a major exporter of land systems.
• Middle East. Sustained demand for air and missile defense and counter-drone systems driven by regional missile and drone threats.

What to Watch Through 2032

1. Delivery against new spending targets: NATO budgets and whether industry can convert contracts into delivered systems.
2. Munitions capacity: artillery and missile production rates against stated goals.
3. Space-based missile defense: the pace and funding of national-scale initiatives.
4. Directed energy fielding: operational deployment of lasers and microwaves for counter-drone missions.
5. Critical-mineral diversification: new non-Chinese supply for gallium, germanium, antimony and rare earths.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is global defense spending rising so quickly?

The war in Ukraine, tensions in the Indo-Pacific and missile and drone attacks in the Middle East have led governments to rebuild stockpiles and modernize forces. SIPRI reported world military spending of about $2.7 trillion in 2024, and NATO allies agreed in 2025 to raise spending toward 5% of GDP by 2035.

Why are munitions production bottlenecks so significant?

Peacetime production was sized for low consumption, and energetics, fuzes and forgings have few qualified suppliers. High-intensity conflict consumed stocks faster than they could be replaced, prompting multiyear contracts and plant expansions.

What is integrated air and missile defense?

It links sensors, command systems and interceptors across multiple layers, from short-range guns and lasers to long-range and space-based systems, so threats can be detected and engaged by the most suitable weapon.

Why is directed energy important for counter-drone defense?

Lasers and high-power microwaves can engage drones at a very low cost per shot, addressing the imbalance of using expensive interceptor missiles against inexpensive drones.

What is resilient PNT?

Resilient positioning, navigation and timing combines protected satellite receivers, inertial sensors and alternative navigation methods so military and civil systems keep working when GPS is jammed or spoofed.

Which regions are growing fastest in defense procurement?

Europe is growing fastest as NATO members raise budgets, while the United States remains the largest market. Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are major growth regions for naval, missile defense and counter-drone systems.

What do Mobility Foresights defense reports include?

Each linked report provides market size and multi-year forecasts, program and procurement analysis, segmentation by platform, component and region, competitive landscape and company profiles, and recent contract developments. Customization is available on request.

Work With Mobility Foresights

Mobility Foresights provides syndicated and custom market intelligence across defense platforms, munitions, missile defense and the defense industrial base. Each report linked above can be purchased individually or tailored to a specific program, component or region. To request a sample or commission a bespoke study, contact our aerospace and defense research team.