This report describes and explains the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market and covers 2020-2025, termed the historic period, and 2025-2030, 2035F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.
The global unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market reached a value of nearly $1.22 billion in 2025, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% since 2020. The market is expected to grow from $1.22 billion in 2025 to $2.08 billion in 2030 at a rate of 11.2%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2030 and reach $3.42 billion in 2035.
Growth in the historic period resulted from the rising maritime security threats, rising defense expenditure, increasing use of USVs for mine countermeasure (MCM) operations and growing offshore oil and gas exploration. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were high development and initial costs and cybersecurity and safety vulnerabilities.
Going forward, the expansion of maritime security and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) programs, growing demand for hydrographic surveying and seabed mapping, increasing naval modernization and fleet digitization programs and government support and investment on maritime robotics and autonomous vessel startups will drive the growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market in the future include operational and maintenance expenses, regulatory and legal challenges and trade war and tariffs.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by type into surface and sub-surface. The surface market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by type, accounting for 73.1% or $898.3 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the surface segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 11.7% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by mode of operation into autonomous surface vehicle and remotely operated surface vehicle. The autonomous surface vehicle market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by mode of operation, accounting for 56.6% or $695 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the autonomous surface vehicle segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by mode of operation, at a CAGR of 12.9% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by hull type into catamaran (twin hulls), kayak (single hull), trimaran (triple hulls) and rigid inflatable hull. The kayak (single hull) market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by hull type, accounting for 44.8% or $550.6 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the kayak (single hull) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by hull type, at a CAGR of 12% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by size into small, medium, large and extra large. The small market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by size, accounting for 36.6% or $449.4 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the extra large segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by size, at a CAGR of 13.8% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by application into defense, commercial, scientific research and other applications. The defense market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by application, accounting for 53.9% or $662.6 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the commercial segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 13.1% during 2025-2030.
Asia Pacific was the largest region in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market, accounting for 33% or $404.8 million of the total in 2025. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market will be Asia Pacific and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 12.6% and 12.2% respectively. These will be followed by South America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 12.1% and 11.7% respectively.
The global unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 19.98% of the total market in 2024. Kongsberg Gruppen ASA was the largest competitor with a 3.37% share of the market, followed by Teledyne Technologies Inc with 2.51%, Textron Inc with 2.26%, L3Harris Technologies with 2.24%, Elbit Systems Ltd with 2.04%, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd with 1.75%, Thales Group with 1.73%, Atlas Elektronik GmbH with 1.40%, Fugro NV with 1.34% and Huntington Ingalls Industries with 1.34%.
The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by type will arise in the surface segment, which will gain $660.2 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by mode of operation will arise in the autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) segment, which will gain $580.3 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by hull type will arise in the kayak (single hull) segment, which will gain $418.5 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by size will arise in the medium segment, which will gain $279.2 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by application will arise in the defense segment, which will gain $498.4 million of global annual sales by 2030. The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market size will gain the most in the USA at $159.2 million.
Market-trend-based strategies for the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market include focus on emergence of submarine-deployed, mission-configurable autonomous naval capabilities, focus on development of AI-driven, open-architecture, long-endurance autonomous naval platforms, focus on expansion of locally produced, AI-enabled, high-speed autonomous maritime capabilities, focus on advancement of long-range autonomous maritime platforms with resilient navigation, focus on EU-supported development of high-speed, low-signature autonomous maritime platforms, focus on development of high-endurance autonomous platforms for expeditionary maritime operations, focus on advancement of high-endurance, modular autonomous platforms for offshore operations and focus on introduction of high-precision, modular autonomous platforms for enhanced marine surveying.
Player-adopted strategies in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market include focus on strengthening operational capabilities through strategic partnerships and focus on strengthening business capabilities through new launches.
To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) companies to focus on submarine-deployed mission-configurable USVs, focus on AI-driven open-architecture autonomous platforms, focus on localized production and high-speed autonomous capabilities, focus on long-range autonomous platforms with resilient navigation, focus on high-endurance autonomous platforms for expeditionary missions, focus on high-endurance modular platforms for offshore operations, focus on high-precision modular platforms for marine surveying, focus on surface segment for scalable high-growth deployment, focus on autonomous surface vehicles for high-growth market leadership, focus on kayak single hull platforms for scalable market expansion, focus on commercial applications for accelerated market growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic channel expansion and regional partnerships, focus on value-based and tiered pricing models, focus on targeted engagement with defense and commercial stakeholders, focus on digital outreach and data-driven communication, focus on collaborative development of low-signature high-speed platforms.
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The global unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market reached a value of nearly $1.22 billion in 2025, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% since 2020. The market is expected to grow from $1.22 billion in 2025 to $2.08 billion in 2030 at a rate of 11.2%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.4% from 2030 and reach $3.42 billion in 2035.
Growth in the historic period resulted from the rising maritime security threats, rising defense expenditure, increasing use of USVs for mine countermeasure (MCM) operations and growing offshore oil and gas exploration. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were high development and initial costs and cybersecurity and safety vulnerabilities.
Going forward, the expansion of maritime security and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) programs, growing demand for hydrographic surveying and seabed mapping, increasing naval modernization and fleet digitization programs and government support and investment on maritime robotics and autonomous vessel startups will drive the growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market in the future include operational and maintenance expenses, regulatory and legal challenges and trade war and tariffs.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by type into surface and sub-surface. The surface market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by type, accounting for 73.1% or $898.3 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the surface segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 11.7% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by mode of operation into autonomous surface vehicle and remotely operated surface vehicle. The autonomous surface vehicle market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by mode of operation, accounting for 56.6% or $695 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the autonomous surface vehicle segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by mode of operation, at a CAGR of 12.9% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by hull type into catamaran (twin hulls), kayak (single hull), trimaran (triple hulls) and rigid inflatable hull. The kayak (single hull) market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by hull type, accounting for 44.8% or $550.6 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the kayak (single hull) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by hull type, at a CAGR of 12% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by size into small, medium, large and extra large. The small market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by size, accounting for 36.6% or $449.4 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the extra large segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by size, at a CAGR of 13.8% during 2025-2030.
The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is segmented by application into defense, commercial, scientific research and other applications. The defense market was the largest segment of the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by application, accounting for 53.9% or $662.6 million of the total in 2025. Going forward, the commercial segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 13.1% during 2025-2030.
Asia Pacific was the largest region in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market, accounting for 33% or $404.8 million of the total in 2025. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market will be Asia Pacific and Middle East where growth will be at CAGRs of 12.6% and 12.2% respectively. These will be followed by South America and Eastern Europe where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 12.1% and 11.7% respectively.
The global unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 19.98% of the total market in 2024. Kongsberg Gruppen ASA was the largest competitor with a 3.37% share of the market, followed by Teledyne Technologies Inc with 2.51%, Textron Inc with 2.26%, L3Harris Technologies with 2.24%, Elbit Systems Ltd with 2.04%, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd with 1.75%, Thales Group with 1.73%, Atlas Elektronik GmbH with 1.40%, Fugro NV with 1.34% and Huntington Ingalls Industries with 1.34%.
The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by type will arise in the surface segment, which will gain $660.2 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by mode of operation will arise in the autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) segment, which will gain $580.3 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by hull type will arise in the kayak (single hull) segment, which will gain $418.5 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by size will arise in the medium segment, which will gain $279.2 million of global annual sales by 2030. The top opportunities in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) markets segmented by application will arise in the defense segment, which will gain $498.4 million of global annual sales by 2030. The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market size will gain the most in the USA at $159.2 million.
Market-trend-based strategies for the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market include focus on emergence of submarine-deployed, mission-configurable autonomous naval capabilities, focus on development of AI-driven, open-architecture, long-endurance autonomous naval platforms, focus on expansion of locally produced, AI-enabled, high-speed autonomous maritime capabilities, focus on advancement of long-range autonomous maritime platforms with resilient navigation, focus on EU-supported development of high-speed, low-signature autonomous maritime platforms, focus on development of high-endurance autonomous platforms for expeditionary maritime operations, focus on advancement of high-endurance, modular autonomous platforms for offshore operations and focus on introduction of high-precision, modular autonomous platforms for enhanced marine surveying.
Player-adopted strategies in the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market include focus on strengthening operational capabilities through strategic partnerships and focus on strengthening business capabilities through new launches.
To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the unmanned surface vehicle (USV) companies to focus on submarine-deployed mission-configurable USVs, focus on AI-driven open-architecture autonomous platforms, focus on localized production and high-speed autonomous capabilities, focus on long-range autonomous platforms with resilient navigation, focus on high-endurance autonomous platforms for expeditionary missions, focus on high-endurance modular platforms for offshore operations, focus on high-precision modular platforms for marine surveying, focus on surface segment for scalable high-growth deployment, focus on autonomous surface vehicles for high-growth market leadership, focus on kayak single hull platforms for scalable market expansion, focus on commercial applications for accelerated market growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic channel expansion and regional partnerships, focus on value-based and tiered pricing models, focus on targeted engagement with defense and commercial stakeholders, focus on digital outreach and data-driven communication, focus on collaborative development of low-signature high-speed platforms.
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Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary
6 Market Characteristics
7 Major Market Trends
8 Global Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Growth Analysis and Strategic Analysis Framework
9 Global Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Market Segmentation
10 Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Market, Regional and Country Analysis
11 Asia-Pacific Market
12 Western Europe Market
13 Eastern Europe Market
14 North America Market
15 South America Market
16 Middle East Market
17 Africa Market
18 Competitive Landscape and Company Profiles
19 Other Major and Innovative Companies
22 Key Mergers and Acquisitions
23 Recent Developments in Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV)
24 Opportunities and Strategies
25 Unmanned Surface Vehicles Market, Conclusions and Recommendations
26 Appendix
Executive Summary
Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2035 provides the strategists; marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down.Reasons to Purchase
- Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 15 geographies.
- Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates.
- Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis.
- Identify growth segments for investment.
- Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market.
- Understand customers based on the latest market research findings.
- Benchmark performance against key competitors.
- Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing.
- Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high-quality data and analysis.
Description
Where is the largest and fastest-growing market for unmanned surface vehicle (USV)? How does the market relate to the overall economy; demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market global report answers all these questions and many more.The report covers market characteristics; size and growth; segmentation; regional and country breakdowns; competitive landscape; market shares; trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s history and forecasts market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider unmanned surface vehicle (USV) market; and compares it with other markets.
The report covers the following chapters
- Introduction and Market Characteristics - Brief introduction to the segmentations covered in the market, definitions and explanations about the segment by type, by mode of operation, by hull type, by size and by application.
- Key Trends - Highlights the major trends shaping the global market. This section also highlights likely future developments in the market
- Growth Analysis and Strategic Analysis Framework Analysis on PESTEL, end use industries, market growth rate, global historic (2020-2025) and forecast (2025-2030, 2035F) market values and drivers and restraints that support and control the growth of the market in the historic and forecast periods, forecast growth contributors and total addressable market (TAM).
- Global Market Size and Growth Global historic (2020-2025) and forecast (2025-2030, 2035F) market values and drivers and restraints that support and control the growth of the market in the historic and forecast periods.
- Regional and Country Analysis - Historic (2020-2025) and forecast (2025-2030, 2035F) market values and growth and market share comparison by region and country.
- Market Segmentation - Contains the market values (2020-2025) (2025-2030, 2035F) and analysis for each segment by type, by mode of operation, by hull type, by size and by application in the market. Historic (2020-2025) and forecast (2025-2030) and (2030-2035) market values and growth and market share comparison by region market.
- Regional Market Size and Growth - Regional market size (2025), historic (2020-2025) and forecast (2025-2030, 2035F) market values and growth and market share comparison of countries within the region. This report includes information on all the regions Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa and major countries within each region.
- Competitive Landscape - Details on the competitive landscape of the market, estimated market shares and company profiles of the leading players.
- Other Major and Innovative Companies Details on the company profiles of other major and innovative companies in the market.
- Competitive Benchmarking - Briefs on the financials comparison between major players in the market.
- Competitive Dashboard - Briefs on competitive dashboard of major players.
- Key Mergers and Acquisitions - Information on recent mergers and acquisitions in the market is covered in the report. This section gives key financial details of mergers and acquisitions which have shaped the market in recent years.
- Recent Developments Information on recent developments in the market covered in the report.
- Market Opportunities and Strategies - Describes market opportunities and strategies based on findings of the research, with information on growth opportunities across countries, segments and strategies to be followed in those markets.
- Conclusions and Recommendations - This section includes recommendations for unmanned surface vehicle (USV) providers in terms of product/service offerings geographic expansion, marketing strategies and target groups.
- Appendix - This section includes details on the NAICS codes covered, abbreviations and currencies codes used in this report.
1) By Type: Surface; Sub-Surface
2) By Mode Of Operation: Autonomous Surface Vehicle; Remotely Operated Surface Vehicle
3) By Hull Type: Catamaran (Twin Hulls); Kayak (Single Hull); Trimaran (Triple Hulls); Rigid Inflatable Hull
4) By Size: Small; Medium; Large; Extra Large
5) By Application: Defense; Commercial; Scientific Research; Other Applications
Companies Mentioned: Kongsberg Gruppen ASA; Teledyne Technologies Inc.; Textron Inc.; L3Harris Technologies; Elbit Systems Ltd.
Countries: China; Germany; Japan; UK; France; India; USA; Canada; South Korea; Brazil; Australia; Russia; Spain; Italy; Indonesia
Regions: Asia-Pacific; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa
Time Series: Five years historic and ten years forecast.
Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets; GDP proportions; expenditure per capita; unmanned surface vehicle (USV) indicators comparison.
Data segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data; market share of competitors; market segments.
Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.
Companies Mentioned
- Kongsberg Gruppen ASA
- Teledyne Technologies Inc.
- Textron Inc.
- L3Harris Technologies
- Elbit Systems Ltd.
- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
- Thales Group
- Atlas Elektronik GmbH
- Fugro NV
- Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Xera Robotics
- Leidos
- Kongsberg Defence Australia Pty Ltd
- Anduril Australia
- Underwater Drone Technologies Pvt Ltd
- Poly Technologies
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)
- HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI)
- Hanwha Ocean
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
- China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC)
- Oceanic Constellations
- NYK Group
- Exail Technologies
- ST Engineering
- Liquid Robotics
- LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd.
- OceanAlpha
- Beijing AquaHelpers Unmanned Ship Technology Co., Ltd.
- Tianjin AMADA Ship Technology Development Co., Ltd.
- Nippon Kaiyo Co., Ltd.
- CSBC Corporation, Taiwan
- Ocius Technology Ltd
- ZeroUSV Ltd
- Lockheed Martin
- NVL
- Blue Water Autonomy
- ECA Group
- Maritime Robotics
- Saab AB
- Fincantieri S.p.A.
- Seadrone
- Navantia
- Acua Ocean
- Trosvik Group AS
- Kraken Technology Group
- Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ)
- Carfil S.A.
- WB Group
- SpetsTechnoExport (STE)
- TrueNorth Systems
- Vector Powerboats
- Ven-Tech Subsea
- Textron Systems
- Anduril Industries, Inc.
- Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
- Leidos Holdings, Inc.
- Lockheed Martin Corporation
- SeaRobotics Corporation
- Open Ocean Robotics
- RanMarine Technology
- Mesodyne
- Saab Inc
- Sailbotix
- Tidewise
- Icarus Marine (Pty) Ltd
- Legacy Marine
- Maritime Robotics AS
Table Information
| Report Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| No. of Pages | 359 |
| Published | May 2026 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 - 2035 |
| Estimated Market Value ( USD | $ 1.22 Billion |
| Forecasted Market Value ( USD | $ 3.42 Billion |
| Compound Annual Growth Rate | 10.8% |
| Regions Covered | Global |
| No. of Companies Mentioned | 68 |
