Flight Simulator Industry Overview

The global flight simulator market size was valued at USD 5.18 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% from 2023 to 2030.

The benefits offered by flight simulator devices include mission-critical training programs that ensure effective aircraft operation, low operational costs, and visual systems. These benefits offer near real-world experience and are anticipated to create new growth avenues for market growth over the next few years. Rising demand for better and more effective pilot training is anticipated to catapult growth. The growing importance of aircraft safety and the need for substantial training is anticipated to spur demand over the forecast period.

The need for flight handling and safety operations, such as situational awareness and skill competency, promotes industry growth. The industry is witnessing unprecedented RD efforts in aerospace technology and technological advancements, resulting in the development of highly advanced flight simulators. These products offer high efficiency and can save fuel costs. Additionally, advancements in computing technology have significantly resulted in the incorporation of better visual and motion systems for enhanced fidelity and smoothness, which is also anticipated to drive the market flight simulators market over the forecast period.

Gather more insights about the market drivers, restrains and growth of the Flight Simulator Market

High manufacturing costs coupled with ongoing operation and maintenance costs are some of the factors expected to hamper product demand. Additionally, flight simulators' limited physical environment and behavioral challenges may negatively impact the market over the forecast period. However, the rising concerns over pilot training costs, fluctuating fuel prices, and cost-saving on basic aircraft maintenance and repair favorably impact the industry growth. The development of realistic aircraft flying simulation systems with overhead and ECAM displays using aircraft system logic has significantly resulted in the high adoption of these devices.

The flight simulators are built to replicate the actual aircraft's cockpit and cabin. The dashboard of the flight simulator is fixed with motion and visual systems to create realistic environments for the pilots. It allows the pilots to feel the movement in the aircraft precisely, and the visual systems help them to work out the approach procedures at the airports. The visual systems are designed to offer the pilots a satellite-quality 180-degree view.

Technological advancements resulting in the development of highly advanced flight simulator is expected to drive market growth. Lockheed Martin Corporation offers a flight simulator named Prepar3D, which can recreate the cityscape and night flying illustrations. They have kept it as an open source for private users and software developers to create new applications and environments, thus ensuring the constant evolution of the program. Additionally, advancements in computing technology have significantly resulted in better visual systems offering near-real-world experience, which are likely to drive industry growth over the forecast period.

The rapidly increasing civil aviation industry and escalating government funding to the defense aviation sector worldwide are expected to increase flight simulator demand significantly over the next eight years. Further, rising passenger air travel elevates demand for trained pilots, which positively impacts the flight simulator adoption. Additionally, the development of realistic aircraft system logic with overhead and ECAM displays has significantly resulted in the high adoption of flight simulators.

Rising demand for air travel is expected to propel the global flight simulator market growth over the forecast period. The need to effectively replicate real flying training using motion and visual systems has resulted in the evolution of sophisticated flight simulators in the market. An increase in government spending and growing security concerns, particularly in the military sector, is expected to escalate growth significantly.

The growing importance of aircraft safety and the need for substantial flight training and simulation is anticipated to spur demand over the coming years. Stringent government norms and regulations pertaining to passenger safety are further expected to elevate product demand. The need for flight handling and safety operations, such as situational awareness and flight skill competency, are expected to fuel industry growth. Additionally, increasing demand for better and more effective pilot training is anticipated to catapult growth.

Technological advancements resulting in the development of highly advanced flight simulator is expected to drive market growth. RD efforts in aerospace technology coupled with performance evaluation of pilots are likely to stimulate market growth over the next few years. The high efficiency of simulation technology and the ability to save fuel costs are expected to serve as key drivers for the market.

The development of simulators for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is expected to offer alternative opportunities for the global market. Advancements in computing technology have significantly resulted in better visual systems offering near real-world experience, which are expected to drive industry growth over the next seven years.

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Flight Simulators Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global flight simulator market based on product, application and region:

Flight Simulator Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• Full Flight Simulator (FFS)
• Fixed Flight Training Devices (FTD)

Flight Simulator Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• Military Defense
• Civil

Flight Simulator Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • South Korea
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
• Middle East and Africa
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE)
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa

Key Companies profiled:

• Leonardo S.p.A.
• Boeing
• CAE Inc.
• AIRBUS
• The DiSTI Corporation
• Fidelity Technologies Corporation
• Havelsan Air Electronic Industry
• Kratos Defense Security Solutions, Inc.
• L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Meggitt PLC
• Collins Aerospace
• Saab AB
• Teledyne Brown Engineering
• Thales
• VirTra, Inc.

Recent Developments

• In June 2023, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team announced the latest City Update II: France, a free addition that showcases the stunning landscapes of five cities: Angers, Amiens, Nîmes, Nantes, and Reims. As a special highlight for the Paris Air Show, this update also features the renowned Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LFPB) in both festival and standard configurations, adding to the immersive experience for players.
• In July 2022, L3Harris Technologies was chosen by Airbus to deliver a cutting-edge full-flight simulator for its Toulouse Training Center, specifically for the A320 family. The Reality7e simulator represents the pinnacle of L3Harris' advanced training technology, offering unparalleled fidelity and realism. Additionally, this partnership enabled early access to training devices, ensuring the industry's growing demand for training capacity.
• In July 2022, CAE introduced its latest innovation in pilot training, the CAE 700MXR Flight Simulator, at the Farnborough International Air Show 2022. This advanced simulator is designed for the emerging eVTOL market and offers a transformative training experience for navigating complex urban environments. The compact mini-motion platform and immersive 360⁰ field of view visuals provide highly realistic and physics-based simulations specifically tailored to single-pilot operations. With the CAE 700MXR Flight Simulator, CAE aims to revolutionize flight training and meet the unique demands of the evolving aviation industry.

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