The Drone market is booming worldwide, moving so quickly that aviation experts predict unmanned aerial vehicle sales will soon take the largest market share of all aircraft sales. The front-running drone exporter is, surprisingly, not the U.S., it's Israel.

In the world of new age surveillance and cutting-edge military technology, UAVs are the path of the future unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, outfitted with advanced radar, cameras, satellite communications, infrared sensors and missiles can be put to use for everything from spying on neighbor countries to executing precision hits on targets Within the realm of unmanned systems, Israel is the world's top exporter.

A report released earlier this year by international consulting firm Frost and Sullivan cites Israel's Unmanned Aerial System exports at four and a half billion dollars between the years 2005 to 2012. The top clients are the UK, Brazil and India.

For a tiny country - population eight million - elevated export numbers are attributed to several factors. Main competitor, the United States, probably produces more drones, but strict export limitations and internal supply demand cut down on numbers of drones being shipped out. And Israel offers potential buyers options they can't get anywhere else.

With prohibitive price tags - 140 million dollars for this Global Hawk - interested clients can sample the technology and pay by the hour, week, month or year and return the drone when the contract expires. UAV demand is expanding, and incorporating drones in civil realms is growing. Experts say Israel's continuous upgrade and innovation in response to market demand keeps the country's UAV industry in a front-running, competitive slot.

The next level is domestic aviation - unmanned cargo movement and farther down the road, pilotless commercial flights.

Source: Xinhua News Agency