Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By System Type (Radars, TCAS, TAWS, CWS, OCAS, Synthetic Vision Systems), By Aircraft Type (Manned Aircraft, Unmanned Aircraft), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 1.38 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	6.29%
Fastest Growing Segment	Unmanned Aircraft
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 1.99 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market will grow from USD 1.38 Billion in 2025 to USD 1.99 Billion by 2031 at a 6.29% CAGR. Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems comprise specialized avionics and sensor suites designed to detect conflicting air traffic and provide automated resolution advisories to prevent mid-air disasters. The primary driver supporting market growth is the urgent necessity to modernize aging fleet capabilities alongside the increasing density of airspace caused by the proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Systems. This expansion is financially underpinned by rising defense budgets worldwide, which prioritize air crew survivability and operational safety in contested environments. According to SIPRI, in 2024, global military expenditure reached $2.7 trillion, representing a significant capital injection that facilitates the procurement of these critical safety technologies.

Despite the positive funding trajectory, the market faces a significant challenge regarding the rigorous certification processes required for integrating these systems into diverse platforms. Ensuring interoperability between legacy manned aircraft and autonomous drones while adhering to strict Size, Weight, and Power constraints creates substantial engineering hurdles. This technical complexity often delays deployment schedules and increases development costs, potentially impeding the rapid adoption of advanced collision avoidance solutions across allied forces.

Key Market Drivers

Increasing Procurement of Advanced Next-Generation Military Aircraft is fundamentally reshaping the market as nations prioritize air superiority through platforms equipped with integrated survivability suites. Unlike legacy fleets requiring retrofits, sixth-generation fighters and advanced trainers incorporate automated collision avoidance algorithms directly into their initial flight control architectures to protect high-value assets. This shift is driving substantial investment in research and development for avionics that can operate in contested environments, ensuring that new airframes are delivered with inherent safety capabilities. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, March 2024, the U.S. Air Force requested $2.75 billion specifically for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) platform in its fiscal year 2025 budget, creating a verified pipeline for advanced safety system integration. Furthermore, to support the broader development of these sophisticated technologies, the U.S. Air Force, in March 2024, requested a total Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) budget of $37.7 billion, underscoring the scale of capital directed toward next-generation capability testing.

The Rising Integration of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) into military airspace acts as a secondary catalyst, necessitating robust Detect and Avoid (DAA) solutions to prevent catastrophic mishaps between manned and unmanned assets. As defense agencies pivot toward "attritable" mass, the density of aerial traffic increases, forcing the adoption of autonomous collision avoidance logic capable of reacting faster than human operators. This trend is exemplified by rapid fielding initiatives designed to deploy thousands of autonomous systems, which simultaneously creates a volume demand for miniaturized safety avionics compliant with non-segregated airspace standards. According to DefenseScoop, March 2024, the Department of Defense requested $500 million in fiscal year 2025 funding specifically for the Replicator initiative, a program focused on fielding autonomous systems at scale which relies heavily on automated airspace deconfliction technologies.

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Key Market Challenges

The rigorous certification processes and technical integration complexities present a formidable barrier to the Global Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market. Developing avionics that ensure seamless interoperability between legacy manned fleets and autonomous drones requires navigating intricate engineering hurdles. Manufacturers must strictly adhere to Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints, as integrating extensive sensor suites into smaller airframes is often technically unfeasible. This requirement for miniaturization forces extended development cycles, significantly inflating costs and delaying the operational deployment of these safety systems.

These engineering bottlenecks directly impede market expansion by slowing the rate at which funded programs achieve operational readiness. The influx of new assets requiring these safeguards is outpacing the capacity of certification pipelines. According to the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), in 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense requested approximately $10.95 billion to support uncrewed vehicle acquisition and development. This substantial investment in new platforms exacerbates the backlog for integrators, who must certify collision avoidance capabilities for each unit, thereby delaying widespread market adoption and revenue recognition.

Key Market Trends

Retrofitting legacy combat fleets with modern collision avoidance suites has emerged as a critical trend to bridge the survivability gap between fourth and fifth-generation platforms. As air forces extend the operational life of airframes like the F-16, integrating systems such as the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS) becomes essential to mitigate Controlled Flight Into Terrain risks without procuring new aircraft. This modernization effort is financially visible in recent contracting activities to bring older fleets up to modern safety standards. According to Aviation Week Network, October 2024, in the 'U.S. Launches Auto-GCAS Upgrade For Foreign F-16 Operators' report, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $21.95 million contract specifically to initiate this life-saving safety upgrade for foreign military sales customers, highlighting the global demand for retrofitting existing inventories with autonomous safety logic.

The advancement of interoperable Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) safety architectures is simultaneously redefining market requirements as forces pair autonomous wingmen with piloted fighters. This trend necessitates the development of collision avoidance logic that can predict and react to the complex maneuvers of manned leads in high-tempo combat scenarios, moving beyond simple deconfliction to cooperative safety. This shift is substantiated by significant funding allocated to programs like the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which rely heavily on these integrated safety behaviors. According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, April 2024, in the 'Anduril and General Atomics to Develop New Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Air Force' article, the U.S. Air Force requested $577.1 million in its fiscal year 2025 budget specifically for the development of these autonomous platforms, underscoring the massive investment driving the creation of safe, teaming-capable avionics.

Segmental Insights

The Unmanned Aircraft segment is recognized as the fastest-growing category within the Global Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market, driven by the expanding fleet of remotely piloted systems used for surveillance and tactical missions. Defense agencies are increasingly requiring these platforms to operate safely alongside manned aircraft in shared airspace, creating a critical demand for automated sense-and-avoid capabilities. Furthermore, safety standards from aviation regulators necessitate reliable collision prevention technologies for operations conducted beyond visual line of sight. This trend compels industry players to develop specialized avoidance solutions that address the unique constraints of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Regional Insights

North America maintains a leading position in the global military aircraft collision avoidance systems market, primarily driven by substantial defense expenditures in the United States. The United States Department of Defense actively funds fleet modernization programs to ensure operational safety and interoperability. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration mandates strict compliance standards for military aircraft operating within civil airspace, compelling the integration of compliant avionics. The presence of major system manufacturers within the region further supports this growth, facilitating the rapid deployment of compliant technologies across military branches.

Recent Developments

• In October 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $21.95 million contract to Lockheed Martin to upgrade foreign F-16 fleets with the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS). This agreement represents the first authorized Foreign Military Sale of the life-saving technology, which automatically executes a recovery maneuver if it detects an impending ground collision. The contract designates the Turkish Air Force as the initial recipient, expanding the global deployment of this critical safety system beyond the U.S. Air Force.
• In September 2024, Sikorsky, in collaboration with NASA, presented breakthrough flight test results for the Airborne Collision Avoidance System X for Rotorcraft (ACAS Xr) at the Digital Avionics Systems Conference. The research evaluated the system's performance in providing automated resolution advisories to prevent mid-air collisions between rotorcraft and other aircraft. The successful tests validated the system's ability to detect threats and autonomously execute avoidance maneuvers, marking a significant advancement in safety technology for future advanced air mobility and military rotorcraft operations.
• In May 2024, Thales demonstrated its newly certified StableLight autopilot system for the H125 helicopter, which features advanced safety capabilities designed to prevent accidents. The system includes an auto-pull-up function triggered by a Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) to automatically recover the aircraft if a controlled flight into terrain is imminent. This product launch addresses a critical safety requirement in the rotorcraft market by reducing pilot workload and mitigating the risk of ground collisions during low-altitude operations.
• In April 2024, Merlin Labs announced a strategic partnership with MIT Lincoln Laboratory to commercialize the Airborne Collision Avoidance System Xu (ACAS Xu) for uncrewed aircraft systems. This collaboration focuses on integrating the ACAS Xu software standard into the Merlin Pilot automation system to facilitate the safe integration of autonomous aircraft into the national airspace. The initiative aims to leverage the system's detect-and-avoid capabilities to enable uncrewed vehicles to operate alongside piloted aircraft, reducing the risk of mid-air collisions in shared airspace.

Key Market Players

• Honeywell International Inc.
• L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• RTX Corporation
• Leonardo SpA
• Thales SA
• Garmin Ltd.
• Avidyne Corporation
• Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Elbit Systems Ltd.

By System Type	By Aircraft Type	By Region
Radars TCAS TAWS CWS OCAS Synthetic Vision Systems	Manned Aircraft Unmanned Aircraft	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market , By System Type:

• Radars
• TCAS
• TAWS
• CWS
• OCAS
• Synthetic Vision Systems

• Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market , By Aircraft Type:

• Manned Aircraft
• Unmanned Aircraft

• Military Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems Market , By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE