Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market – Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By System Type (Multi-Functional Display Systems, Primary Flight Display, Engine-Indicating & Crew Alerting System (EICAS) Display), By Aircraft Type (Fighter Jet, Transport Aircraft, Helicopter), By Region & Competition, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 0.23 Billion
CAGR (2026-2031)	5.11%
Fastest Growing Segment	Helicopter
Largest Market	North America
Market Size (2031)	USD 0.31 Billion

Market Overview

The Global Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market will grow from USD 0.23 Billion in 2025 to USD 0.31 Billion by 2031 at a 5.11% CAGR. A military aircraft digital glass cockpit system is an integrated flight deck interface where mechanical analog instruments are superseded by electronic multi-function displays to synthesize flight, navigation, and sensor information. The market is primarily driven by the imperative to enhance pilot situational awareness and the operational requirement to replace obsolete avionics in aging fleets with reliable digital alternatives. This modernization reduces pilot workload during complex missions and facilitates the seamless integration of new weapon systems, serving as a fundamental driver for procurement distinct from transient technological trends.

However, market expansion faces a significant challenge regarding the high cost and technical complexity associated with certifying these integrated systems for airworthiness and cybersecurity compliance. Manufacturers must navigate rigorous testing standards that can delay deployment and increase development expenses. According to the Aerospace Industries Association, in 2024, the aerospace and defense industry generated 995 billion dollars in combined sales, underscoring the substantial economic scale within which these cockpit procurements occur despite ongoing supply chain pressures.

Key Market Drivers

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Rising global defense expenditure and the procurement of next-generation combat aircraft act as primary catalysts for the adoption of digital glass cockpit systems. As geopolitical tensions escalate, nations are prioritizing the acquisition of fifth and sixth-generation fighters that necessitate integrated touchscreen displays and sensor fusion capabilities as standard configurations. This fiscal focus ensures a steady manufacturing pipeline for advanced flight deck technologies, moving beyond legacy mechanical interfaces to support network-centric warfare. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, April 2024, in the 'Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023' report, global military spending grew by 6.8 percent to reach 2443 billion dollars, creating a robust financial environment for acquiring high-tech aerial platforms equipped with these sophisticated avionics suites.

Modernization and avionics upgrade programs for aging military aircraft fleets further solidify market demand by retrofitting reliable digital interfaces into older airframes. Defense agencies prioritize extending the service life of existing assets through block upgrades that replace obsolete analog gauges with large-area displays, thereby enhancing situational awareness and flight safety without the cost of new acquisitions. According to the U.S. Department of the Air Force, March 2024, in the 'Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Estimates', the service requested 18.8 billion dollars for Weapon System Sustainment, highlighting the significant capital allocated to maintaining and upgrading operational fleet capabilities. This sustainment activity drives substantial revenue for suppliers; according to RTX, July 2024, in the 'Q2 2024 Earnings Release', the Collins Aerospace segment reported sales of 6.9 billion dollars, reflecting the critical industrial scale required to support both new production and aftermarket avionics needs.

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Key Market Challenges

The market expansion is hampered by the exorbitant costs and intricate technical requirements involved in obtaining airworthiness and cybersecurity certifications for digital glass cockpit systems. As flight deck interfaces transition to complex software-driven architectures, manufacturers must navigate rigorous validation protocols to guarantee operational safety and data integrity. This compliance burden significantly extends development phases, leading to protracted procurement cycles that delay the fielding of modernized aircraft. Consequently, the high barrier to entry limits market competition and forces defense ministries to allocate disproportionate segments of their budgets solely to regulatory approval rather than capability acquisition, thereby slowing the overall momentum of fleet digitization.

This friction in the deployment pipeline is particularly critical when considering the significant volume of international trade reliant on these cleared technologies. According to the Aerospace Industries Association, in 2024, United States aerospace and defense exports reached 138.6 billion dollars, highlighting the massive economic value that is contingent upon meeting these stringent international certification standards. Any bottlenecks in the technical approval process not only stall domestic fleet upgrades but also impede the global exportability of these advanced avionics systems, directly restricting the sector's potential revenue growth.

Key Market Trends

The integration of Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) interfaces is rapidly emerging as a critical trend, fundamentally altering cockpit configurations to support the simultaneous control of manned aircraft and autonomous wingmen. This capability necessitates advanced flight deck systems that allow pilots to manage drone swarms and interpret sensor data from off-board assets without becoming overwhelmed, shifting the pilot's role from a stick-and-throttle operator to a mission commander. This operational shift is heavily supported by substantial funding for collaborative platforms that drive these interface requirements; according to Army Recognition, May 2025, in the 'US Air Force begins testing its first unmanned fighter jets to increase the combat capabilities of F-22 and F-35' article, the total planned funding for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, which relies on such teaming architectures, is 8.89 billion dollars from FY2025 to FY2029.

Simultaneously, the market is undergoing a decisive transition to Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) standards to eliminate vendor lock-in and accelerate the insertion of new technologies. By adopting standardized interfaces and reusable software components, defense agencies can rapidly upgrade specific cockpit functions—such as communications or targeting—without redesigning the entire avionics suite, thereby reducing lifecycle costs and deployment timelines. This structural shift is exemplified by recent contracting activities focused on open standards; according to AviTrader, March 2025, in the 'Collins Aerospace to upgrade U.S. Army Black Hawk avionics' article, Collins Aerospace was awarded an 80 million dollar contract to upgrade the avionics of Black Hawk helicopters using their Mosarc family of MOSA-compliant products.

Segmental Insights

The Helicopter segment currently stands as the fastest-growing category within the Global Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market due to widespread fleet modernization efforts. Defense agencies are prioritizing the transition from mechanical analog instruments to integrated digital interfaces to enhance situational awareness and flight safety. This demand is fueled by the increasing reliance on rotary-wing aircraft for complex missions, including combat search and rescue operations in adverse weather conditions. Consequently, the adoption of multi-function displays is essential for reducing pilot workload and ensuring precise navigation during high-stakes military engagements.

Regional Insights

North America holds a dominant position in the Global Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market, largely attributed to extensive defense procurement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD actively funds the retrofitting of legacy aircraft with digital systems to ensure combat readiness and superior situational awareness. This demand is supported by a concentrated industrial base of major manufacturers, such as Collins Aerospace and Honeywell. Furthermore, the necessity for military fleets to adhere to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) civil airspace interoperability standards continues to drive the systemic transition from analog to digital glass cockpits.

Recent Developments

• In December 2025, Garmin Ltd. was awarded a contract to modernize the avionics suites of the Brazilian Air Force's UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter fleet. Through a partnership with an aerospace defense contractor, the company agreed to equip twenty-four aircraft with the G5000H integrated flight deck, which features expansive high-resolution touchscreen displays. This comprehensive digital glass cockpit upgrade includes advanced situational awareness tools such as synthetic vision technology and helicopter terrain awareness warning systems. The modernization program was designed to replace analog instruments with a unified interface, significantly reducing pilot workload and extending the operational utility of these utility helicopters.
• In October 2025, Thales unveiled a breakthrough research initiative featuring a helicopter modified to serve as a flying testbed for next-generation military cockpit systems. This platform was equipped with a fully integrated digital glass cockpit designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Modular Open Systems Approach for future army aviation. The innovative testbed allowed engineers to reconfigure avionics software and validate new code in real-time during flight, a process that significantly accelerates development timelines. This advancement aimed to facilitate the rapid integration of third-party technologies and ensure seamless interoperability for both future vertical lift programs and legacy aircraft upgrades.
• In November 2024, Elbit Systems of America secured a significant contract from the United States Air Force to supply modernized Wide-Angle Conventional Head-Up Displays for the F-16 fighter fleet. This indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity agreement, with a ceiling of $89 million, involved replacing older diffractive optic units with advanced digital systems designed to improve situational awareness. The new displays project critical flight and mission data directly into the pilot's line of sight, enabling faster decision-making during combat operations. The company noted that this avionics upgrade would establish configuration commonality across the aircraft fleet, thereby streamlining maintenance processes and logistics for the military.
• In October 2024, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies announced a strategic collaboration with a developer of autonomous flight systems to integrate artificial intelligence capabilities into the Anthem avionics suite. This partnership focused on deploying advanced digital flight decks across military fixed-wing aircraft, such as transport and refueling platforms, to support single-pilot operations. The initiative aimed to address pilot shortages and enhance operational safety by automating complex tasks and reducing cockpit workload. By combining cloud-native avionics with autonomous technology, the companies sought to provide a scalable solution that modernizes legacy military fleets and optimizes mission performance.

Key Market Players

• Kearfott Corporation
• Elbit Systems Ltd.
• TransDigm Group Incorporated
• Honeywell International Inc.
• Garmin Ltd.
• RTX Corporation
• Thales S.A.
• L3Harris Technologies Inc.
• Safran S.A.
• Astronautics Corporation of America

By System Type	By Aircraft Type	By Region
Multi-Functional Display Systems Primary Flight Display Engine-Indicating & Crew Alerting System (EICAS) Display	Fighter Jet Transport Aircraft Helicopter	North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa

Report Scope:

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

• Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market, By System Type:

• Multi-Functional Display Systems
• Primary Flight Display
• Engine-Indicating & Crew Alerting System (EICAS) Display

• Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit Systems Market, By Aircraft Type:

• Fighter Jet
• Transport Aircraft
• Helicopter

• Military Aircraft Digital Glass Cockpit 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