Commercial Sectors Are Increasingly Adopting the Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), which is Bolstering the Market Revenue
The unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are the drones operating underwater with or without human interference. Globally defense forces are one of the prominent sectors for the companies providing UUVs, owing to the ever-increasing demand for subsea monitoring. Currently, the adoption trend of UUVs is increasing among various commercial sectors such as oil & gas exploration organizations, hydrographic and oceanographic survey organizations, environmental monitoring organizations & search, and recovery teams. The unmanned underwater vehicles are also being adopted by various scientific research organizations for conducting oceanic studies and maritime surveys, among others.
The development and adoption of modern technological equipment are enabling naval forces and maritime organizations to effectively synchronize air, naval and land components as a single unit. For instance, the US Navy is in the development phase of Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV), which is capable of providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR), mine counter-measures (MCM), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), acoustic surveillance, and offensive operations. The LDUUV is currently in the testing phase. Similarly, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded a project in collaboration with the US Office of Naval Research, for the development of the ASW Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), which is an anti-submarine drone capable of detecting the silent diesel-electric submarines in littoral waters. The ACTUV project is expected to be completed by 2018. Moreover, Boeing has introduced the Echo Voyager, which is the company’s largest UUV offerings capabilities of autonomous operation using a hybrid rechargeable power system and modular payload bay.
Currently, the most prominent region in the unmanned underwater vehicles market in North America, pertaining to a large number of manufacturers, and suppliers in the region. Moreover, software companies are also enhancing the capabilities of the vehicles by introducing advanced programs and software. In addition, the US Defense authority is continuously investing significant amounts in research and developments, resulting in advanced technology, which in turn is increasing the demand for such unmanned marine systems among US Navy as well as international naval forces. The manufacturers are also acquiring contracts from various commercial sectors across the globe to deploy unmanned marine systems in applications such as oil & gas exploration, environmental monitoring, hydrographic and oceanographic among others. Along with these factors, the significant rise in hydrographic and oceanographic studies in the developed countries and developing economies are bolstering the market for the unmanned underwater vehicle in North America region. On the other hand, countries in Asia Pacific region such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India among others are constantly spending substantial amounts in development and procurement of advanced unmanned undersea robots.
The market for unmanned underwater vehicles market is segmented on basis of parameters such as types, applications, and geography. The types of segment include remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The application segment includes commercial, defense, and research. Geographically the market is classified into five strategic regions as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and South America.
The leading participants in the unmanned underwater vehicles market include Kongsberg Gruppen, Teledyne Technologies Incorporate, Lockheed Martin Corporation, SAAB AB, L3 Technologies, Inc., Subsea 7 S.A., ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH, International Submarine Engineering Limited, ECA Group, and GABRI S.R.L.
