Description

Escalating conflicts, heightening tensions, and increasing polarization are spurring the growth of defense budgets across the globe. Civil conflicts from within and terrorism are driving defense vehicle procurement. While procurement is expected to vary by region, Africa, APAC, and the Middle East will emerge as key regions in market growth. Technological advancements will be focused on by manufacturers and Tier Is, and potential technology areas such as hybrid-electric vehicles and digitization of data will push the defense industry to leverage the commercial sector to modernize and enhance the capabilities of defense trucks. The autonomy of trucks, connectivity, technologies for vehicle performance improvement, and leveraging data to reduce costs overall will shape defense truck market over the next ten years. Rising operational costs on the battlefield due to fuel will drive militaries to focus on hybrid and electric trucks in the long term while perceived benefits of fuel efficiency gains and a move towards autonomous vehicles will result in the higher adoption of automated transmissions. Autonomous defense trucks will rise in adoption due to the multi-dimensional benefits offered—lower fuel costs, minimal involvement of personnel, and thus lesser risk of threat to lives. Increasing payload will necessitate optimization of weight and performance of suspension; enhanced mobility will emerge as one of the critical criteria due to operational costs stemming from fuel and associated transportation costs. Subsystem suppliers for sensors collecting data on vehicle and personnel, and software applications for analytics and in use of actionable data, will be key in digitization of services. Connected devices will thus facilitate the digitization of data, enhancing survivability and the monitoring of real-time information to provide actionable information. The adoption of Internet of Things ( IoT) technologies will gain in preference as a result of increased fleet utilization and sharing of data to improve productivity. Cybersecurity will be key in successful development and deployment of IoT technologies. A broad range of opportunities exists for the commercial sourcing of components and subsystems, such as sensors, to be integrated into systems by prime contractors in the defense truck market - the inclusion of new military capabilities in future trucks will push manufacturers and subsystem suppliers to increasingly integrate more commercial components such as electronic and energy storage modules. The commonality of components will increase in the industry in order to reduce total ownership costs. Modularity will extend beyond systems such as chassis and cab to telematics services through 2025 and beyond; enhanced tactical range, reduced logistics footprint, excess capacity and less training for maintenance will spur the drive for modularity.