Military Simulation and Virtual Training Market

Simulation and virtual training are cost-effective alternatives to live training. This solution has received a considerable amount of attention in recent years due to its potential for use in a variety of applications, such as virtual military training, virtual emergency evacuation, virtual firefighting, and so on. In terms of military, all the branches, such as the army, navy, and air force are benefitted by this solution. Over a period, the computer processors got more powerful, so did the graphics, computing speed, hardware, and the visual displays, of the simulation platform. This has enabled features such as piloting a plane, driving a submarine, dropping bombs, and firing missiles, more realistic and which is hard to perform in the real world.

Factors such as growing emphasis on maritime security and subsequent focus on virtual solutions for naval training; and focus on implementing flight simulators for training combat aircraft pilots are the prime driving factors of the military simulation and virtual training market. Meanwhile, the inability of the virtual systems to fully replicate the psychological effects during simulation and training could restrain the market growth to a certain extent. However, increasing adoption of AR technology in the aerospace & defense sector, and increased use of UAVs and subsequent focus on drone simulators offer promising growth opportunities for the market.

The global military simulation and virtual training market are estimated to witness 4.12% CAGR during the forecast period, 2018-2025. In 2018, the market was led by North America with 35.07% share, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific with shares of 24.31% and 22.90%, respectively. Asia-Pacific is becoming a lucrative region for the firms that provide military simulation and virtual training firms, due to the significant spending in the defense sector and demand from countries such as China, India, and South Korea.

The global military simulation and virtual training market have been segmented based on type, training type, and region. In terms of platform, airborne segment accounted for the largest market share of 50.09% in 2018, with a market value of USD 5,758.5 million, which is projected to witness a CAGR of 4.21% during the forecast period. In terms of training type, the live segment accounted for the largest market share of 42.21% in 2018, with a market value of USD 4,835.1 million, which is projected to witness a CAGR of 3.73% during the forecast period.