SANTA CLARA, Calif. – November 11, 2016 – Electric rail and laser weapons and hypersonic missiles will begin to replace current weapons. Defense majors are focusing on missile defense, counter rocket artillery and mortar, counter space and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. South Korea, Japan, India, Poland and Brazil will gain market share, mostly thanks to platform manufacturing. Countries with advanced defense technology will work on enhancing speed, range, accuracy and networking of weapons, leaving the manufacture of aircraft, ship and ground vehicles to mid-tier nations.   Global Vision Defense is part of Frost & Sullivan’s Defense Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes insights on airports, US Department of Defense spending, unmanned aircraft systems payloads, security control rooms and missile defense.  Unmanned systems of all types, which will have the fastest growth, and Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)-based IT networks will be in high demand in the Middle East and Asia. By 2026, the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance/electronic warfare/information operations (C4ISR/EW/IO) segment will continue to be the largest defense segment in the $715 billion defense procurement market.  “The most interesting near-term markets for defense equipment are proving to be Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe, as the governments modernize their forces and systems,” said Frost & Sullivan’s Aerospace & Defense Analyst. “Although North America will lose some of their market share, it will remain the largest regional defense market worldwide.”  Employing COTS standards-based products, mature platforms and good-enough technology designs will reduce costs, ease integration, enable technology refresh, and lower training requirements. This will help to reduce overall systems costs and speed acquisition.  “Furthermore, the industry could witness consolidation due to overcapacity, but this will enable local firms to benefit from joint ventures and technology transfers,” noted the analyst. “The emphasis on national borders and more independent foreign policy will also open up the market for border security and collaboration tools by 2026.”