The global synthetic aperture radar market size was valued at USD 2.21 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7% from 2020 to 2027. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) uses remote sensing technology to build two- and three-dimensional, high-resolution images of objects on earth. It requires a longer antenna for a conventional radar system to generate high-resolution images, which drastically increases the weight and cost of the satellite.
For example, to get a spatial resolution of 10m with a space satellite operating at a wavelength of 5 cm, it will require an antenna of about 4,250 m long, which is equivalent to 47 football fields. Synthetic aperture technology uses a shorter set of antennas to simulate a large antenna to gather a set of acquisitions and combine the data to create a high-resolution image.
SAR operates at multiple frequencies, which makes it suitable to work during bad weather conditions, without sunlight and clear skies. Such factors are anticipated to fuel the market growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, rising need for situational awareness and early warnings for decision making against natural disasters and potential enemy threats are the factors expected to drive the market.
Synthetic aperture radar produces high-quality digital images of the terrains, forests, urban regions, snow-clad mountains, and oceans, which can be used to update the old databases to create new maps. Moreover, it offers a cost-effective solution for surveying large areas with high accuracy and precision. These high-quality images enable a sophisticated analysis of data, which can be used to make digital terrain models for land cover information.
Such data can be used for applications like vegetation cover mapping, biomass estimation, mineral exploration, and biological water monitoring for research purposes. SAR provides accurate data and precisely captured surface features and topographical features of the terrain, thereby resulting in high adoption by the government agencies for research purposes.
The integration of synthetic aperture radar with the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) ecosystem is expected to gain traction in the near future. The defense agencies have to mostly rely on separate systems and displays for collecting and analyzing data retrieved from SAR. This is a tedious and time-consuming process, considering the involvement of several pre-processing steps for analyzing the data. The integration with C4ISR will provide the operator with tools to analyze the data and help with planning, tasking, executing military missions, and propelling SAR's adoption in the defense sector.
High development cost involved in the customization of the synthetic aperture radar, along with government regulations on using limited bandwidth, is another factor that is expected to affect market growth. For instance, the U.S. government had placed a limit of 0.25 m on the resolution of commercial SAR data collection. This rule refrains any non-U.S. firms from transmitting the SAR data above 0.25 m outside the U.S. However, the rule has been lifted and it will allow companies to sell higher resolution data above 0.25 m for commercial purposes. Relaxations in the norms and support from the governments will help companies to serve the market with better resolution data, which is expected to contribute to the market growth.
Segments Covered in the Report
The report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2027. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global synthetic aperture radar market report based on frequency, platform, mode, application, and region:
Frequency Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)
- Single -X, L, C, Others
- Multiple
Platform Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)
- Ground
- Airborne - Spacecraft, Aircraft, UAV
Mode Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)
- Single - ScanSAR, Stripmap, Spotlight
- Multi
Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)
Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)
- North America - The U.S., Canada
- Europe - The U.K., Germany, France, Italy
- Asia Pacific - China, India, Japan, South Korea
- Latin America - Brazil, Mexico
- Middle East & Africa
