The next major innovation that will impact the market for military drones will be drones capable of air-to-air combat, according to a new Motley Fool article. So far, military drones have been limited to surveillance roles and attacking ground targets, but drones that could combat other aircraft would be in high demand, as they would allow militaries to conduct aerial combat without putting pilots’ lives at risk.

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American drone manufacturers are well positioned to take advantage of this next development in military drone technology, the article said. Northrop Gunman is already developing drones that can take off and land from aircraft carriers, and be refueled in mid-flight. Northrop is already setting itself apart from the market by focusing on very advanced, high-altitude drones that can cover longer distances. Drones that can combat other aircraft will likely need all of those characteristics.

Although Israeli drone manufacturers like Elbit Systems currently lead the market for military drones, American manufacturers are quickly catching up, and could pull ahead if they can be the first to make air-to-air combat drones. Northrop is developing a long-distance drone, called the MQ-4 Triton, that Australia and other countries are already lining up to buy. General Atomics, another US-based drone maker, is also getting more business from European countries interested in its popular, medium-altitude Predator and Reaper drones.

The overall market for military drones will grow steadily over the next few years, as more countries look to automate military missions to reduce battlefield casualties. The Motley Fool cited recent estimates from IHS Jane that the military drone market would grow from $6.4 billion last year to $10 billion in 2024. This tracks closely with BI Intelligence’s projections, as we forecast that spending on military drones will increase from nearly $6 billion last year to $9 billion in 2023.

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