Asif Anwar, Program Director, Strategy Analytics

Operational requirements to establish freedom of action in contested and congested environments, as well as being able to counter modern agile radar and communications will drive opportunities for the Electronic Warfare (EW) market. The Strategy Analytics Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) service report forecasts the global EW market will grow to $20.0 billion by 2027.

While the defense industry has been unable to sustain revenue growth, profitability has been growing. Sustaining an upwards trajectory for profit margins will require scale, the ability to integrate and incorporate new capabilities and the capacity to disrupt the competitive landscape through emerging technologies and by attacking adjacent markets.

On July 14, 2016, Infineon Technologies AG and Cree, Inc. that the two companies had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Wolfspeed Power and RF division (“Wolfspeed”) of Cree. The deal also includes the related SiC wafer substrate business for power and RF power and moves Infineon into a greater role in the defense business.

Infineon will buy Wolfspeed for $850 million. The acquisition provides a lucrative exit for Wolfspeed’s parent company Cree and allows Infineon to add GaN capability to its commercial RF power portfolio. But what does this mean for the US DoD when a foreign company buys a Category 1A Trusted Foundry facility with DoD manufacturing readiness level eight (MRL 8) designation?

Electronic Warfare and military communications will continue to be a pivotal resource in-theatre with future architectural designs dictated by factors such as the need to optimise SWaP-C (size, weight, power, cost), changing demands from in-theatre and the ability to make effective use of spectrum which is an increasingly limited resource.

This Strategy Analytics article reviews defense industry news over the course of 2015, covering radar, electronic warfare, weapons systems and communications summarizing our coverage through the Strategy Analytics’ Industry Reviews. The report also looks at microwave, optoelectronic and other components as well as discussing business event, product announcements, milestones and contract activity.

NXP Semiconductors and Freescale Semiconductor agreed to merge operations earlier this year (March 02, 2015) in a deal that valued the combined company at over $40 billion. The merger was officially completed on December 7, 2015 with the basic motivational tenets underscoring the merger being an emphasis on targeting the embedded systems, automotive, secure payments and IoT (Internet of Things) market opportunities. NXP also retains Freescale’s capabilities in the areas of high power RF, effectively establishing a leading market share position and the ability to continue with the strategy adopted by Freescale to address the military market opportunity.