Air-Based C4ISR Market Report 2026

The air-based c4isr market size has grown strongly in recent years. It will grow from $5.5 billion in 2025 to $5.87 billion in 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to growth in airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, adoption of integrated command and control systems on aircraft, technological advancements in electro-optical and infrared sensors, expansion of secure airborne communication networks, increasing procurement of airborne early warning and control systems.

The air-based c4isr market size is expected to see strong growth in the next few years. It will grow to $7.54 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to integration with advanced AI-enabled decision support tools, rising adoption of uavs and aerostat platforms, demand for real-time tactical data-link enhancements, expansion of software-driven systems integration and lifecycle support services, growth in joint air force and allied force operations requiring interoperable c4isr systems. Major trends in the forecast period include increasing use of next-generation airborne isr payloads, growing demand for multi-domain command and control capabilities, expansion of tactical data-link interoperability requirements, rising integration of modular, open-architecture c4isr systems, strengthening need for persistent wide-area airborne surveillance.

The rising demand for advanced air surveillance and reconnaissance systems is expected to propel the growth of the air-based C4ISR market going forward. Advanced air surveillance involves modern systems that use radar, sensors, and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect, track, and identify airborne objects in real time, enhancing airspace security and situational awareness. This demand is driven by growing security threats, as governments and militaries require greater situational awareness and faster responses to asymmetric warfare, terrorism, border incursions, and transnational crime. Air-based C4ISR addresses this demand by improving real-time data collection, situational awareness, decision-making speed, and coordination between airborne and ground forces. For example, in April 2025, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Sweden-based independent research organization, reported that global military expenditure reached $2.71 trillion in 2024, a 9.4% increase in real terms from 2023, marking the steepest year-on-year rise since at least the end of the Cold War. Therefore, the rising demand for advanced air surveillance and reconnaissance systems is fueling growth in the air-based C4ISR market.

Key companies in the air-based C4ISR market are focusing on developing technological advancements such as software-defined, open-architecture multi-mode airborne surveillance radars to enhance high-altitude, wide-area, all-weather situational awareness across manned and unmanned aircraft. Software-defined, open-architecture multi-mode airborne surveillance radar refers to a digitally programmable sensor that fuses modes and uses open standards, enabling rapid integration and upgrades on multiple platforms. For instance, in October 2025, Raytheon, a US-based defense contractor and aerospace manufacturer, began initial production of the Sharp Sight multi-domain surveillance radar. Sharp Sight combines capabilities from Raytheon’s HISAR and SeaVue families, delivering high-altitude, real-time, high-resolution imaging with wide-area search and tracking, operating day or night in any weather. It is designed for rapid integration on manned and unmanned systems with an open architecture for fast upgrades. The system merges synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indication, and maritime surveillance modes into a single software-defined package that can be quickly integrated on a wide range of aircraft, and its open architecture supports exportability and rapid modernization. This combination extends persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance coverage over land and sea, improves detection and tracking of small or hard-to-observe targets, and enables multi-domain missions such as border protection and search and rescue in all weather and at any time. Its purpose is to provide commanders with faster, higher-fidelity airborne situational awareness and target-quality data that can be shared across command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance networks to accelerate decision-making and coordinate operations.

In September 2024, Honeywell, a US-based provider of aerospace, defense, and advanced technology solutions, acquired CAES Systems Holdings LLC for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, Honeywell aims to enhance its technological capabilities in radar, communications, and electronic warfare systems, strengthening its defense portfolio across land, air, sea, and space domains. CAES Systems is a US-based company providing air-based C4ISR solutions.

Major companies operating in the air-based c4isr market are Airbus SE, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Safran S.A., Leonardo S.p.A., Textron Inc., Elbit Systems Limited, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., Saab Aktiebolag, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Hensoldt AG, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., Sierra Nevada Corporation, Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft, HAVELSAN Hava Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.

North America was the largest region in the air-based C4ISR market in 2025. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the air-based c4isr market report are Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.

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.

Tariffs are raising procurement and production costs for air-based C4ISR systems by increasing prices of imported sensors, radar assemblies, avionics components, and secure communication modules. Hardware-heavy segments such as airborne radar, electro-optical payloads, and tactical communication terminals are most affected, especially across North America and Europe, where reliance on global electronics supply chains is high. Nevertheless, tariffs are accelerating domestic manufacturing, regional supply-chain localization, and investment in cost-efficient open-architecture C4ISR solutions that improve long-term operational resilience.

The air based c4ISR market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides air based c4ISR market statistics, including air based c4ISR industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with the air based c4ISR market share, air based c4ISR market segments, market trends, and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the air based c4ISR industry. This air based c4ISR market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

Air-based C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) refers to the integrated systems on aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and aerostats that collect, process, and share actionable information while enabling coordinated decision-making in the air domain. Its purpose is to provide commanders with timely situational awareness and secure control of forces by detecting, identifying, and communicating threats and targets across the battlespace.

The key solution types of air-based C4ISR are hardware, software, and services. Air-based C4ISR hardware allows aircraft to host command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems by providing the onboard sensing, computing, and radio frequency foundations required for reliable airborne detection, processing, and secure data exchange. The platform types include fixed-wing aircraft and rotary-wing aircraft. These solutions are used in various applications such as surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, electronic warfare, communication, and others, and serve end-users across defense and commercial sectors.

The countries covered in the air-based c4isr market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The air-based C4ISR market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as airborne intelligence collection and analysis, surveillance and reconnaissance mission operations, command and control mission planning and management, secure airborne communications and data-link operations, and systems integration with software upgrades and lifecycle support. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The air-based C4ISR market also includes sales of airborne early warning and control systems, electro-optical and infrared sensor turrets, synthetic aperture radar payloads, signals intelligence and electronic support suites, and tactical data-link and secure communication terminals. 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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