Defense Satellite Revenues Will Exceed $22.6 Billion by 2035
Global demand for military satellite communications is projected to top 7.5 terabits per second in the coming decade.
Updated on Oct. 12, 2026 in Telecommunications
Live Poll
Should the nation prioritize satellite-based communications to improve military resilience against potential attacks?
Global defense satellite communications revenues are forecast to surpass $22.6 billion by 2035. This growth coincides with a global demand for data transmission exceeding 7.5 terabits per second.
Why it matters
Armed forces are shifting to next-generation non-geostationary orbit constellations to improve resilience against jamming and kinetic attacks. The integration of multi-orbit architectures aims to mitigate risks from signal disruptions.
Non-geostationary orbit service revenues are expected to reach $21.3 billion by 2035, while geostationary orbit revenues are projected to decline to $1.3 billion. Geostationary orbit capacity demand is forecast to triple within the same period.
The players
United States
The nation currently leads the global market for satellite communication demand and revenue.
China
The country serves as the second-largest market for defense satellite communication demand and revenue.
The details
The United States remains the largest market, accounting for more than 50 percent of global demand and 48 percent of revenues by 2035. China follows as the second-largest player, representing approximately 30 percent of both global demand and revenues.
Timeline
Geostationary orbit revenues are estimated at $2.3 billion in 2025.
Total global defense satellite revenues are projected to exceed $22.6 billion by 2035.
The Tech Race
The shift toward multi-orbit military satellite architectures marks a departure from reliance on singular geostationary systems. This evolution reflects a broader move to replace legacy hardware with resilient, distributed networks capable of withstanding signal jamming.
As military forces move toward advanced, non-geostationary satellite networks, the increased demand for capacity will likely drive further commercial innovation in satellite hardware and signal processing. Consumers may eventually see these technical advancements translate into more robust or faster global communication services.
The takeaway
The defense sector is rapidly moving toward multi-orbit configurations to prioritize network resilience over traditional geostationary models. This shift suggests that the future of satellite communications will be defined by redundancy and increased data throughput to survive contested environments.
Further reading
For more on the development of global connectivity networks, see Telecommunications.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Electronicsb2b.
Live Poll
Should the nation prioritize satellite-based communications to improve military resilience against potential attacks?
