Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market is projected to expand from USD 175.81 Billion in 2025 to USD 264.58 Billion by 2031, reflecting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.05%. This sector comprises essential secondary hardware and systems, such as logistics machinery, radar, sonar, and navigation aids, which ensure the operational readiness and sustainment of primary military platforms. Key growth factors include the urgent need to extend the service life of legacy assets through electronic modernization and a growing requirement for interoperable communication networks to support joint alliance operations. Furthermore, the push to reduce personnel risks in hostile environments is driving accelerated investment in advanced control technologies and the integration of autonomous support vehicles.

Despite this positive outlook, market expansion faces significant hurdles due to severe supply chain constraints and a shortage of skilled labor, both of which cause production bottlenecks and delay equipment deliveries. These industrial challenges make it difficult for manufacturers to satisfy the surging global demand, even amidst a favorable budgetary climate. Highlighting the sector's financial momentum, the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe reported that the defense industry generated a turnover of €183.4 billion for the 2024 period in 2025, marking a substantial 13.8 percent annual increase.

Market Drivers

Escalating global defense expenditures and increased budget allocations act as the primary catalyst for the Global Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market, guaranteeing continuous funding for secondary systems that frequently receive less attention than primary combat platforms. As nations prioritize modernizing maintenance depots, engineering support, and logistics chains, capital investment in the auxiliary sector has risen to align with the procurement of frontline assets. This financial backing enables defense forces to acquire critical material handling equipment, field hospitals, and advanced navigation aids required for sustained operations, thereby expanding the market for support hardware. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in its April 2024 'Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023' Fact Sheet, total global military spending reached $2.44 trillion in 2023, a real-terms increase of 6.8 percent year-over-year.

Concurrently, rising geopolitical tensions and regional security instability are reshaping procurement strategies, forcing armed forces to bolster deployable support capabilities and operational readiness for potential high-intensity conflicts. The resurgence of great power competition has revealed vulnerabilities in battlefield sustainment and supply chain resilience, prompting urgent requirements for mobile command posts, armored logistics vehicles, and autonomous resupply systems capable of surviving in contested zones. Highlighting this trend, NATO's February 2024 press release projected that European Allies would invest a combined total of $380 billion in defense in 2024. This surge is reflected in industry performance; for example, Rheinmetall AG reported in August 2024 that its group sales rose by 33 percent year-on-year to €3.8 billion in the first half of 2024, driven largely by high demand in the military sector.

Market Challenges

The Global Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market is currently stalled by critical impediments, specifically severe supply chain constraints and a shortage of skilled labor. These interconnected industrial deficiencies directly hinder sector expansion by generating substantial production bottlenecks that prevent manufacturers from meeting the surging global demand. As the modernization of legacy assets requires complex electronics and autonomous systems necessitate advanced engineering, the lack of specialized technicians and the unavailability of components significantly extend lead times. Consequently, funds allocated for defense modernization cannot be efficiently converted into delivered operational readiness, resulting in backlogs that compromise the sustainment of primary military platforms.

This inability to scale production is statistically evident across the broader industrial base. The National Defense Industrial Association's 'Vital Signs 2025' report indicates that 54 percent of private sector respondents identified supply chain challenges as a pressing issue for the defense industrial base. This data underscores a systemic fragility wherein essential technologies for joint alliance operations - such as communication networks, navigation aids, and logistics machinery - face delivery delays. Such disruptions compel defense agencies to defer upgrade programs, effectively dampening immediate market revenue realization despite the existence of a favorable budgetary environment.

Market Trends

The implementation of additive manufacturing for on-demand spare parts production is fundamentally reshaping supply chain dynamics by facilitating the decentralized fabrication of critical components directly at the point of need. Defense agencies are increasingly adopting industrial 3D printing technologies to circumvent traditional manufacturing bottlenecks and rapidly sustain legacy platforms plagued by part obsolescence. This transition not only minimizes the logistical burden of transporting spare inventories but also accelerates equipment repair cycles in contested environments where secure supply lines may be compromised. For instance, Velo3D announced in December 2025 that it secured a $32.6 million contract with the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit to support Project FORGE, an initiative aimed at eliminating production impediments for major weapon systems using advanced additive manufacturing.

Simultaneously, the transition to renewable energy microgrids for forward operating bases is gathering momentum as military forces aim to decrease reliance on vulnerable fossil fuel convoys and bolster energy independence. By integrating battery storage, solar arrays, and intelligent management systems, armed forces can ensure operational continuity during grid outages while significantly reducing the thermal and acoustic signatures associated with standard diesel generators. This shift in operational energy is vital for sustaining long-duration missions in remote areas where fuel resupply poses logistical challenges. Underscoring this priority, SAM.gov reported in July 2025 that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $26.4 million contract to City Light & Power FTR, LLC for microgrid construction and power generation at Fort Riley, highlighting the growing commitment to resilient, independent energy infrastructure.

Key Players Profiled in the Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market

• Oshkosh Corporation
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• General Dynamics Corporation
• BAE Systems PLC
• Textron Inc.
• RTX Corporation
• Rheinmetall AG
• L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Honeywell International Inc.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market, by Type:

• Military Radars
• Military Satellites
• Others

Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market, by Application Type:

• Autonomous Land Based Defense Equipment
• Manual

Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market, by Payload Type:

• Intelligence
• Surveillance and Reconnaissance (Isr)
• Communication
• Navigation

Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Defense Support and Auxiliary Equipment Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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