Orbital Defense Systems Market Report 2025

The orbital defense system market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $17.05 billion in 2024 to $18.33 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5%. The growth during the historic period can be credited to escalating geopolitical tensions, higher allocations in defense budgets, a rise in satellite threat occurrences, increased private-sector investments in space, and a heightened focus on the resilience of space assets.

The orbital defense system market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $24.2 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. The growth during the forecast period can be attributed to the increasing adoption of advanced laser and kinetic interceptor technologies, greater integration of artificial intelligence-driven command systems, expanding public-private collaborations in space defense, rising demand for geostationary defense constellations, and heightened focus on orbital situational awareness systems. Key trends in the forecast period include progress in directed-energy and electronic warfare payloads, the incorporation of artificial intelligence and autonomous control networks, miniaturization of satellite defense platforms, advancements in secure orbit-to-ground communication links, and improvements in sensor fusion for enhanced space situational awareness.

The growth of the orbital defense systems market is expected to be driven by increasing defense budgets. A defense budget refers to the funds a nation’s military allocates for purchasing, replenishing, and maintaining its stockpile of ammunition such as bullets, shells, and missiles. The rise in defense budgets is attributed to escalating geopolitical tensions, expanded military operations, and the need to replenish depleted ammunition supplies. Orbital defense systems depend heavily on these budgets to finance the development, deployment, and upkeep of advanced technologies that provide protection against threats originating from space. For example, in December 2023, the House of Commons Library in the UK reported that the UK secured defense orders valued at $16.04 billion (£12 billion) in real terms in 2022, marking an increase of $6.15 billion (£4.6 billion) compared to 2021. This significant growth in defense procurement highlights increased investment in advanced military capabilities. Consequently, the rising defense budget is contributing to the expansion of the orbital defense systems market.

Key players in the orbital defense systems market are emphasizing strategic partnerships to fast-track technological innovation, improve space-based surveillance and defense capabilities, and obtain government contracts for large-scale deployment. Strategic partnerships involve companies combining their strengths and resources to achieve shared success. For instance, in May 2025, Atmos Space Cargo GmbH, a Germany-based aerospace firm, collaborated with ARX Robotics GmbH, a German autonomous technology company, to launch Europe’s first orbital depot for autonomous defense systems. This initiative merges ATMOS’s re-entry capsule technology with ARX’s unmanned systems, enabling rapid deployment of autonomous systems for disaster response, surveillance, and defense. The partnership enhances Europe’s operational resilience and broadens the strategic networks of both companies across the continent.

In October 2024, Lockheed Martin, an aerospace and defense company based in the US, acquired Terran Orbital for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition is intended to strengthen Lockheed Martin’s capabilities in the space systems sector by integrating Terran Orbital’s expertise in small satellite manufacturing, increasing production flexibility, and boosting support for programs run by the US Space Development Agency and other national security space missions. Terran Orbital Corporation is a US-based aerospace and defense company specializing in manufacturing orbital defense satellites and related systems.

Major players in the orbital defense systems market are Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, L3Harris Technologies, Amentum Holdings Inc, General Atomics, AXIENT CORP, Rocket Lab USA Inc, Capella Space, Blue Canyon Technologies Inc, Loft Orbital Solutions Inc, LeoLabs Inc., Slingshot Aerospace Inc, SpaceWorks Enterprises Inc, Alba Orbital Limited, Voyager Technologies Inc, Kayhan Space Corp., FlyPix AI GmbH, and Blackstar Orbital Technologies Corporation.

North America was the largest region in the orbital defense system market in 2024. The regions covered in orbital defense system report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. The countries covered in the orbital defense system market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report’s Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

The sharp hike in U.S. tariffs and the associated trade disputes in spring 2025 are notably impacting the aerospace and defense sector by raising costs for titanium, carbon fiber composites, and avionics materials largely sourced from global suppliers. Defense contractors, locked into fixed-price government contracts, absorb these added costs, while commercial aerospace firms face airline pushback on higher aircraft prices. Delays in component shipments due to customs bottlenecks further disrupt tight production schedules for jets and satellites. The industry is responding by stockpiling critical materials, seeking waivers for defense-related imports, and collaborating with allied nations to diversify supply chain.

Orbital defense systems are space-based infrastructures designed to protect against threats using satellites, surveillance instruments, and defensive technologies to detect and counter hostile actions occurring in or originating from space. These components operate collectively to safeguard space assets or defend Earth and orbital installations from potential attacks.

The primary components of orbital defense systems include satellites, ground control stations, launch vehicles, and related technologies. Satellites either natural or man-made play a central role, with artificial satellites specifically engineered and placed in orbit to support communication, navigation, Earth monitoring, and scientific research. These systems feature advanced technologies such as directed-energy weapons, kinetic interceptors, electronic warfare tools, and more. They are employed across military, civilian, and commercial sectors by governments, defense agencies, and private companies to maintain space security and ensure operational robustness.

The orbital defense systems market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides orbital defense systems market statistics, including the orbital defense systems industry's global market size, regional shares, competitors with the orbital defense systems market share, detailed orbital defense systems market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the orbital defense systems market. This orbital defense systems market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenarios of the industry.

The orbital defense system market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as space surveillance and tracking, missile detection and early warning, and orbital threat neutralization. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The orbital defense system market also includes sales of high-altitude combat platforms, turreted weapon modules derived from advanced city destroyer armaments, and unified command and control networks linking orbital assets with the moon-based earth space defense facility. Values in this market are ‘factory gate’ values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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