Commercial UAV Global Market Report 2025

A commercial UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is an aircraft designed for business and industrial purposes. These aircraft are remotely controlled from the ground by trained and professional pilots and are well-equipped to handle complex tasks. They are employed to improve operational efficiencies, streamline operational procedures, and conserve resources like time and money.

The main types of commercial UAVs are fixed-wing drones, rotary-wing drones, and hybrid drones. A fixed-wing drone has one rigid wing that is designed to look and work like an airplane, providing lift rather than vertical lift rotors. These are available in several weight categories, such as <2 kg, 2kg - 25 kg, 25kg - 150 kg, and 150kg, and are used for several applications, including agriculture, retail, energy, media and entertainment, construction, and government.

Note that the outlook for this market is being affected by rapid changes in trade relations and tariffs globally. The report will be updated prior to delivery to reflect the latest status, including revised forecasts and quantified impact analysis. The report's Recommendations and Conclusions sections will be updated to give strategies for entities dealing with the fast-moving international environment.

The sharp increase in U.S. tariffs and resulting trade disputes in spring 2025 are significantly affecting the aerospace and defense sector. Prices for key materials such as titanium, carbon fiber composites, and avionics primarily sourced from international suppliers have surged. Defense contractors, constrained by fixed-price government contracts, are forced to absorb these rising costs. Meanwhile, commercial aerospace companies are encountering resistance from airlines over increased aircraft prices. In addition, customs delays are disrupting already tight production timelines for jets and satellites. In response, the industry is stockpiling essential materials, pursuing import waivers for defense-related goods, and working with allied nations to diversify supply chains.

The main types of commercial UAVs are fixed-wing drones, rotary-wing drones, and hybrid drones. A fixed-wing drone has one rigid wing that is designed to look and work like an airplane, providing lift rather than vertical lift rotors. These are available in several weight categories, such as <2 kg, 2kg - 25 kg, 25kg - 150 kg, and 150kg, and are used for several applications, including agriculture, retail, energy, media and entertainment, construction, and government.

The commercial uav market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $14.91 billion in 2024 to $18.32 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to wide-scale use in civil and commercial applications, the growing number of applications, the rise in the use of UAVs for the military, the rise in government investment, and the need for safe and accurate inspection and monitoring.

The commercial uav market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $41.96 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.0%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to rise in advanced patrolling of marine borders, rapid industrial developments, increased the demand for automation in various industries, increased foreign investments, increased transfer of technologies related to UAV platforms. Major trends in the forecast period include technological advancements, product innovations, increased deployment to carry out aerial remote sensing, emerging applications of UAVs in the commercial sector, rise in R&D for new and advanced technology.

The forecast of 23.0% growth over the next five years reflects a modest reduction of 0.3% from the previous estimate for this market.This reduction is primarily due to the impact of tariffs between the US and other countries. This is likely to directly affect the US through supply chain disruptions for flight controllers, sourced from key regions such as Switzerland and Israel, which could lead to higher production costs for industrial drones.The effect will also be felt more widely due to reciprocal tariffs and the negative effect on the global economy and trade due to increased trade tensions and restrictions.

The increasing automation is expected to propel the growth of the commercial UAV market going forward. Automation refers to the use of technology, systems, or processes to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. The goal of automation is to streamline operations, increase efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance overall productivity in various industries and applications. Automation enables UAVs to follow predefined flight paths using GPS waypoints. This is particularly useful for surveying, mapping, and monitoring large areas without direct human intervention. For instance, in March 2023, according to Verizon Communications Inc., a US-based telecommunications company, retailers anticipate a significant increase in automation and expect up to 70% of routine tasks will be partially or fully automated by 2025. The use of AI to improve operations is projected to increase 9x by 2025. Therefore, the increasing automation is driving the growth of the commercial UAV market.

Major companies operating in the commercial UAV market are developing innovative technologies, such as commercial drone platforms, to increase their profitability in the market. Commercial drone platforms refer to the various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones that are specifically designed, configured, and utilized for commercial purposes rather than recreational or military applications. For instance, in May 2023, SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based technology company, launched a new commercial drone platform called DJI Matrice 350 RTK and improved security measures to protect the drone, its communication channels, and the data it collects. It is an advanced commercial drone that supports multiple payloads, has sophisticated functionality, and is compatible with a variety of professional payloads to enable extensive data collecting across several industries. This may involve encryption, secure authentication, and protection against cyber threats. Including high-resolution cameras, LiDAR sensors, thermal imaging, or other specialized sensors to cater to various industries and applications.

In October 2024, Axon Enterprise Inc., a US-based public safety technology company, acquired Dedrone Holdings for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition aims to strengthen public safety and national security by incorporating Dedrone's airspace awareness and security technology into Axon's public safety platform. This integration will support the development of advanced drone as first responder (DFR) programs and improve protection against unauthorized drone threats. Dedrone is a US-based company specializing in counter-drone and counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) technology.

Major companies operating in the commercial UAV market are Raytheon Technologies, The Boeing Company, Intel Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems plc, Textron Inc., Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc., SAIC Inc., Elbit Systems Ltd., Israel Aerospace Industries, DJI Innovations, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Yuneec Holding Ltd., AeroVironment Inc., Aurora Flight, Insitu, Parrot Drones, Parrot SA, DroneDeploy, Skydio, Autel Robotics, Airobotics, PrecisionHawk, 3D Robotics, Aeryon Labs, Draganfly Innovations Inc., Ehang Holdings Limited, Aeronavics, Challis Heliplane UAV Inc., Prox Dynamics AS

North America was the largest region in the commercial UAV market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the commercial UAV market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.

The countries covered in the commercial UAV market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The commercial UAV market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing services such as agricultural services, infrastructure inspection, aerial photography and videography, and delivery services. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. The commercial UAV market also includes sales of multicolor drones, fixed-wing drones, hybrid VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) drones, payloads, and sensors. Values in this market are 'factory gate' values, that is the value of goods sold by the manufacturers or creators of the goods, whether to other entities (including downstream manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers) or directly to end customers. The value of goods in this market includes related services sold by the creators of the goods.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

Commercial UAV Global Market Report 2025 from The Business Research Company provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the market.

This report focuses on commercial uav market which is experiencing strong growth. The report gives a guide to the trends which will be shaping the market over the next ten years and beyond.

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Where is the largest and fastest growing market for commercial uav? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward, including technological disruption, regulatory shifts, and changing consumer preferences? The commercial uav market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.

The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography.

• The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.
• The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, and forecasting its development.
• The forecasts are made after considering the major factors currently impacting the market. These include:

The forecasts are made after considering the major factors currently impacting the market. These include the technological advancements such as AI and automation, Russia-Ukraine war, trade tariffs (government-imposed import/export duties), elevated inflation and interest rates.

• Market segmentations break down the market into sub markets.
• The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth.
• The competitive landscape chapter gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.
• The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers.

Scope

• Markets Covered:1) By Type: Fixed Wing Drones; Rotary Wing Drones; Hybrid Drones
• 2) By Weight: <2 kg; 2kg - 25 kg; 25kg - 150 kg; 150kg
• 3) By Application: Agriculture; Retail; Energy; Media And Entertainment; Construction; Government
• Subsegments:
• 1) By Fixed Wing Drones: Long-Endurance Drones; Short-Endurance Drones; Surveying And Mapping Drones
• 2) By Rotary Wing Drones: Quadcopters; Hexacopters; Octocopters
• 3) By Hybrid Drones: VTOL (Vertical Take-Off And Landing) Drones; Multi-Rotor With Fixed Wing Capabilities
• Companies Mentioned: Raytheon Technologies; The Boeing Company; Intel Corporation; General Dynamics Corporation; Northrop Grumman; BAE Systems plc; Textron Inc.; Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc.; SAIC Inc.; Elbit Systems Ltd.; Israel Aerospace Industries; DJI Innovations; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems; Yuneec Holding Ltd.; AeroVironment Inc.; Aurora Flight; Insitu; Parrot Drones; Parrot SA; DroneDeploy; Skydio; Autel Robotics; Airobotics; PrecisionHawk; 3D Robotics; Aeryon Labs; Draganfly Innovations Inc.; Ehang Holdings Limited; Aeronavics; Challis Heliplane UAV Inc.; Prox Dynamics AS
• Countries: Australia; Brazil; China; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Japan; Russia; South Korea; UK; USA; Canada; Italy; Spain
• Regions: Asia-Pacific; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa
• Time Series: Five years historic and ten years forecast.
• Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per capita,
• Data Segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.
• Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.
• Delivery Format: PDF, Word and Excel Data Dashboard.