Flight simulation market to reach $11.89B by 2030

The commercial and military flight simulation market is expanding as global air traffic rises, pilot training demand increases and militaries modernize. The Business Research Company projects the market will grow from $8.5 billion in 2025 to $11.89 billion by 2030.

Why it matters: - Flight simulation is becoming a bigger part of pilot training, certification and mission readiness as airlines and defense forces try to reduce cost and risk. - Rising air traffic is increasing demand for training systems that can scale with fleet growth and tighter safety requirements.

What happened: - The Business Research Company released its Commercial and Military Flight Simulation Global Market Report 2026 on the market’s size, trends and forecast through 2035. - The report says the market will rise from $8.5 billion in 2025 to $9.12 billion in 2026, a 7.3% compound annual growth rate. - The market is projected to reach $11.89 billion by 2030, growing at a 6.9% CAGR. - North America held the largest market share in 2025. - Asia-Pacific is forecast to be the fastest-growing region over the next several years.

The details: - Commercial and military flight simulation uses software and hardware to replicate aircraft operation, flight conditions and mission scenarios in a controlled virtual setting. - The systems are used for pilot training, certification and safer testing of aircraft systems and procedures without the cost and danger of live flight. - Key growth drivers in the near term include more pilot training needs in commercial aviation, more military training activity, broader use of simulator-based certification and growing aircraft fleets. - Longer-term growth is expected to come from more sophisticated pilot training systems, military modernization, realistic mission simulation, lower training costs and wider use of synthetic training environments. - Reported market trends include higher demand for high-fidelity simulation systems, more use of full-flight simulators, cost-effective virtual training, expanded simulation for aircraft certification and testing, and more mission-specific military simulators. - The report covers Asia-Pacific, South East Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East and Africa. - The 2026 report package adds market attractiveness scoring, total addressable market analysis, a company scoring matrix, Excel forecasting dashboards, market hotspots infographics, and updated graphics and tables. - The report includes a free sample at Download a free sample and the full report at View the full report.

Between the lines: - The market outlook ties directly to global passenger growth and defense procurement priorities, not just simulator adoption itself. - IATA reported in January 2025 that global passenger traffic rose 10.4% in 2024, international passenger traffic rose 13.6% and the passenger load factor hit a record 83.5%. - Those figures suggest airlines and training providers need more scalable systems to keep pace with higher utilization and new pilot demand.

What's next: - The market’s next phase will likely be shaped by continued airline fleet expansion, military fleet upgrades and broader use of simulation in certification and mission rehearsal. - Providers that can deliver high-fidelity, lower-cost and mission-specific training systems are positioned to benefit as demand expands.