6th April 2023
An Instrument Landing System (ILS) is a ground-based radio navigation system that is considered a standard International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) accurate landing aid that provides aircraft with vertical and horizontal guidance during the final approach and landing phases of flight. It consists of two main components: the localizer and the glide slope. The localizer provides lateral guidance to the pilot, ensuring that the aircraft is on the correct approach path to the runway. The glide slope provides vertical guidance, ensuring that the aircraft is descending at the correct angle to the runway.
The ILS is primarily used in low-visibility conditions, such as fog, heavy rain, or snow, where visual cues may be obscured or difficult to see. It can also be used in normal weather conditions to assist pilots in landing more accurately and safely.
The increasing frequency of air travel led to an increase in the number of flights which created the need for more efficient landing systems. On the other hand, governments around the world are investing in the modernization and upgradation of their airports to improve air connectivity and promote economic growth. The development of new technologies, such as satellite-based navigation systems and advanced communication technologies, has improved the performance and accuracy of ILS systems. All these factors made more emphasis on safety and security in the aviation industry, there is a growing demand for more advanced and reliable instruments for landing systems. Eventually, it led to a huge impact on the market of ILS in the coming years.
The Global Instrument Landing System (ILS) Market has reached a worth of $1.6 billion in 2022. This market is projected to grow from $1.7 billion in 2023 to $2.7 billion in 2030 with a CAGR of 5.9% in the forecast period of 2023-2030. This market is estimated based on different key pointers that attribute to the growth which are product types including ILS Category I, ILS Category II, and Category III, technology such as LEDs & Incandescent Lamps, and applications including Commercial service airports & Military service airports. The leading companies such as Astronics Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., Rockwell Collins Inc., ADB Airfield Solutions, and ATG Airports Ltd.
The demand for ILS systems is particularly high in developing countries, where governments are investing heavily in airport modernization and expansion that supports the growth of the Commercial Service Airports segment. These airports are constantly improving due to the increasing number of passengers for air travel and the reliability of these systems for safe & easy landings. For instance, the Indian government has recently announced plans to develop 100 new airports by 2024. Overall, the enhancement in the infrastructure of airports is expected to drive the demand for ILS systems in the upcoming years.
The North American region contributes the major market share in the Instrument Landing System Market. This is due to the presence of a huge number of airports, and the need for air travel continuously increasing in the case of commercial services provided for passenger travel that eventually created the demand for the expansion of airports. Furthermore, the existence of leading ILS service-providing companies in the US such as Rockwell Collins, Honeywell International, and so on are propagating this market through new innovations, improving the performance and reliability of these systems.
In 2018, Rockwell Collins was awarded a contract by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to supply ILS systems for airports across the country and they provided Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS), which provides pilots with more accurate guidance during landing. In addition to that, in 2019, Honeywell International announced the launch of its new SmartPath Precision Landing System, which uses advanced satellite-based technology to provide pilots with efficient landing guidance. The increase in advancement and collaboration made this market grow further in the forecast period as predicted.
The global Instrument Landing System (ILS) market would be steadily growing in the coming years due to the increasing demand for safe and efficient landing systems in the aviation industry. It is a greater opportunity for the pioneer companies in developing instrument landing systems for airports. These companies should continue to invest in research and development and also be aware of developing new technologies, such as satellite-based navigation systems and advanced communication technologies, to provide pilots with more accurate and efficient guidance during landing.
The leading companies look forward to enhancing their product portfolio by offering a wider range of landing systems to meet the diverse needs of their customers and creating the newer design in these systems that could differentiate their landing systems from those of their competitors and build a strong reputation for delivering high-quality products and services. Finally, it leads to the growth of the company which paves the way for the overall market growth of ILS globally in the coming year.