'Mkt for military satellite communications to reach $ 9 bn'

DUBAI: The global military communications market will be worth $ 9 billion by 2018 with West Asia emerging as a key growth region for the commercial satellite industry servicing it, an expert has said.

Fewer dedicated military satellite communications systems will be launched and the military will need to augment systems with the greater use of commercial satellite communications networks, Gordon McMillan, Director of Government Services for satellite network provider Inmarsat, said.

Speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi meant for the military and commercial industries, the expert yesterday said that the adoption of commercial satellite communication systems by government and military users presents an opportunity.

"As military budgets come under increasing pressure, the commercial satellite industry fulfils an increasingly greater proportion of the communications needs of government and military customers," he said.

Quoting an independent research, he claimed that the global government and military satellite communications market was worth an estimated $ 4 billion in 2010.

"The Middle East has been, and will continue to be a very important region in the context of government and military communications," he added.

McMillan also said that commercial satellite systems that are designed keeping in mind military and government customers will give the users greater flexibility in fulfilling their communications requirements, for land, sea and air operations.