Guided Missile & Space Vehicle Manufacturing
Description
Companies in this industry manufacture guided missiles and related defense systems, along with space vehicles. Major companies include US-based Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX Corporation, and Space Exploration Technologies, plus Airbus Group (the Netherlands), Almaz-Antey (Russia), BAE Systems (the UK), Leonardo (Italy), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan), and SAFRAN and Thales (both of France).
Global economic activity in the space industry, which includes space vehicles, is valued at about $613 billion in 2024, according to the Space Foundation. In 2024, top exporters of spacecraft, satellites, and spacecraft launch vehicles include Germany, France, and China, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
The US guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing industry includes about 40 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $18 billion. Manufacture of space satellites is not included in this industry.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand for guided missiles depends on government spending on defense. Demand for space vehicles is driven by the need to deliver commercial and noncommercial payloads into Earth orbit or beyond. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in design, manufacturing, and purchasing. Small companies can compete by providing niche products to prime contractors, and by forming joint ventures with larger contractors. The US industry is highly concentrated: the top four companies account for 90% of industry revenue.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
A missile is self-propelled by a rocket engine, guided or unguided vehicle carrying a weapons payload. Missiles are either strategic or conventional. Strategic missiles -- including ballistic and cruise missiles -- are long-range, and may carry nuclear warheads. Ballistic missiles are rocket-propelled; cruise missiles are powered by air-breathing jet engines. Types of missiles include anti-tank, anti-ship, and assault, and may be air-to-surface, surface-to-air, or air-to-air. Missile ranges vary according to type and include: short range ballistic missile (SRBM -- 40 to 600 miles); medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM -- 600 to 1,800 miles); intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM -- 1,800 to 3,400 miles); and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM -- more than 3,400 miles). Major products offered by leading companies include complete guided missiles, which account for about 70% of the industry's revenue. Other products include complete space vehicles that are offered to the US government and other customers.
Missile guidance systems are designed to hit moving targets, stationary targets, or both. A go-onto-target (GOT) guidance system can target either moving or fixed targets; go-onto-location-in-space (GOLIS) systems are mostly limited to nonmoving targets. Guidance systems may employ a number of technologies to accurately engage targets. In GOT applications, three subsystems are used to guide the weapon: a target tracker, a missile tracker, and a guidance computer. The three subsystems interact in one of two ways. In remote control guidance the guidance computer and target tracker are on the launch platform. In homing guidance, there are guidance computers in the missile and the target tracker. GOLIS systems operate using navigational guidance and must contain pre-set information about the target. Typical methods of navigational guidance include: preset, celestial, terrestrial, magnetic, satellite (GPS), or hyperbolic.
Space vehicles typically consist of a launch vehicle and a payload, which may be a satellite or a space capsule vehicle (which may be manned or unmanned). Space vehicles are usually expendable launch systems that employ single- or multi-stage rockets to propel payloads into Earth orbit or into outer space. The US space shuttle was a manned, partly reusable low earth orbital spacecraft operated by NASA that was used on 135 missions between 1981 and 2011. The space shuttle program has been decommissioned, but research into reusable launch vehicles continues.
Ballistic missiles and space vehicles both use rocket technology to achieve thrust and propulsion. Solid-fuel rockets are fairly simple; they employ a fuel that burns very quickly to create thrust without exploding. The advantages of a solid-fuel rocket include simplicity and low cost. However, the thrust generated by solid-fuel rockets can't be controlled, and once ignited the rocket engine can't be stopped or restarted. Liquid-fuel rockets are more complicated, but thrust is controllable. In a typical liquid-fuel rocket, a fuel and an oxidizer are pumped into a combustion chamber, where they burn to create a high-velocity stream of hot gases. Gases flow through a nozzle, where they're accelerated further before leaving the rocket engine and creating thrust. Liquid-fuel rocket technology using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were used on the main engines during the space shuttle program.
Key inputs for guided missile and space vehicles may include a wide variety of materials including metals (steel, aluminum, and titanium), plastics, fuels, and electronic components. R&D expenses are often around 5% of revenue, though such companies may receive significant federal funding for research and development.
Global economic activity in the space industry, which includes space vehicles, is valued at about $613 billion in 2024, according to the Space Foundation. In 2024, top exporters of spacecraft, satellites, and spacecraft launch vehicles include Germany, France, and China, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
The US guided missile and space vehicle manufacturing industry includes about 40 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $18 billion. Manufacture of space satellites is not included in this industry.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand for guided missiles depends on government spending on defense. Demand for space vehicles is driven by the need to deliver commercial and noncommercial payloads into Earth orbit or beyond. Large companies enjoy economies of scale in design, manufacturing, and purchasing. Small companies can compete by providing niche products to prime contractors, and by forming joint ventures with larger contractors. The US industry is highly concentrated: the top four companies account for 90% of industry revenue.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
A missile is self-propelled by a rocket engine, guided or unguided vehicle carrying a weapons payload. Missiles are either strategic or conventional. Strategic missiles -- including ballistic and cruise missiles -- are long-range, and may carry nuclear warheads. Ballistic missiles are rocket-propelled; cruise missiles are powered by air-breathing jet engines. Types of missiles include anti-tank, anti-ship, and assault, and may be air-to-surface, surface-to-air, or air-to-air. Missile ranges vary according to type and include: short range ballistic missile (SRBM -- 40 to 600 miles); medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM -- 600 to 1,800 miles); intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM -- 1,800 to 3,400 miles); and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM -- more than 3,400 miles). Major products offered by leading companies include complete guided missiles, which account for about 70% of the industry's revenue. Other products include complete space vehicles that are offered to the US government and other customers.
Missile guidance systems are designed to hit moving targets, stationary targets, or both. A go-onto-target (GOT) guidance system can target either moving or fixed targets; go-onto-location-in-space (GOLIS) systems are mostly limited to nonmoving targets. Guidance systems may employ a number of technologies to accurately engage targets. In GOT applications, three subsystems are used to guide the weapon: a target tracker, a missile tracker, and a guidance computer. The three subsystems interact in one of two ways. In remote control guidance the guidance computer and target tracker are on the launch platform. In homing guidance, there are guidance computers in the missile and the target tracker. GOLIS systems operate using navigational guidance and must contain pre-set information about the target. Typical methods of navigational guidance include: preset, celestial, terrestrial, magnetic, satellite (GPS), or hyperbolic.
Space vehicles typically consist of a launch vehicle and a payload, which may be a satellite or a space capsule vehicle (which may be manned or unmanned). Space vehicles are usually expendable launch systems that employ single- or multi-stage rockets to propel payloads into Earth orbit or into outer space. The US space shuttle was a manned, partly reusable low earth orbital spacecraft operated by NASA that was used on 135 missions between 1981 and 2011. The space shuttle program has been decommissioned, but research into reusable launch vehicles continues.
Ballistic missiles and space vehicles both use rocket technology to achieve thrust and propulsion. Solid-fuel rockets are fairly simple; they employ a fuel that burns very quickly to create thrust without exploding. The advantages of a solid-fuel rocket include simplicity and low cost. However, the thrust generated by solid-fuel rockets can't be controlled, and once ignited the rocket engine can't be stopped or restarted. Liquid-fuel rockets are more complicated, but thrust is controllable. In a typical liquid-fuel rocket, a fuel and an oxidizer are pumped into a combustion chamber, where they burn to create a high-velocity stream of hot gases. Gases flow through a nozzle, where they're accelerated further before leaving the rocket engine and creating thrust. Liquid-fuel rocket technology using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen were used on the main engines during the space shuttle program.
Key inputs for guided missile and space vehicles may include a wide variety of materials including metals (steel, aluminum, and titanium), plastics, fuels, and electronic components. R&D expenses are often around 5% of revenue, though such companies may receive significant federal funding for research and development.
Table of Contents
- Industry Overview
- Quarterly Industry Update
- Business Challenges
- Business Trends
- Industry Opportunities
- Call Preparation Questions
- Financial Information
- Industry Forecast
- Web Links and Acronyms
Search Inside Report
Pricing
Currency Rates
Questions or Comments?
Our team has the ability to search within reports to verify it suits your needs. We can also help maximize your budget by finding sections of reports you can purchase.