The catalyst in the smart weapons market is the global pressure to reduce civilian causalities during conflict. The concept of carpet-bombing entire cities or an area increased civilian causalities. World War I resulted in around 7 million civilian deaths, and World War II resulted in around 50 million civilian deaths.
In the case of conventional bombs, the proximity to the target and the probability to neutralize the target were directly proportional to each other. This also exposed airborne assets to enemy fire, and the risk of airplanes being shot down was very high.
