Commercial UAV Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Fixed Wing, Rotary Blade, Nano, Hybrid), By Application (Agriculture, Energy, Government, Media & Entertainment, Construction), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Research Methodology

A three-pronged approach was followed for deducing the commercial UAV market estimates and forecasts. The process has three steps: information procurement, analysis, and validation. The whole process is cyclical, and steps repeat until the estimates are validated. The three steps are explained in detail below:

Information procurement: Information procurement is one of the most extensive and important stages in our research process, and quality data is critical for accurate analysis. We followed a multi-channel data collection process for commercial UAV market to gather the most reliable and current information possible.

• We buy access to paid databases such as Hoover’s and Factiva for company financials, industry information, white papers, industry journals, SME journals, and more.
• We tap into Grand View’s proprietary database of data points and insights from active and archived monitoring and reporting.
• We conduct primary research with industry experts through questionnaires and one-on-one phone interviews.
• We pull from reliable secondary sources such as white papers and government statistics, published by organizations like WHO, NGOs, World Bank, etc., Key Opinion Leaders (KoL) publications, company filings, investor documents, and more.
• We purchase and review investor analyst reports, broker reports, academic commentary, government quotes, and wealth management publications for insightful third-party perspectives.

Analysis: We mine the data collected to establish baselines for forecasting, identify trends and opportunities, gain insight into consumer demographics and drivers, and so much more. We utilized different methods of commercial UAV market data depending on the type of information we’re trying to uncover in our research.

• Market Research Efforts: Bottom-up Approach for estimating and forecasting demand size and opportunity, top-down Approach for new product forecasting and penetration, and combined approach of both Bottom-up and Top-down for full coverage analysis.

• Value-Chain-Based Sizing & Forecasting: Supply-side estimates for understanding potential revenue through competitive benchmarking, forecasting, and penetration modeling.

• Demand-side estimates for identifying parent and ancillary markets, segment modeling, and heuristic forecasting.

• Qualitative Functional Deployment (QFD) Modelling for market share assessment.

Market formulation and validation: We mine the data collected to establish baselines for forecasting, identify trends and opportunities, gain insight into consumer demographics and drivers, and so much more. We utilize different methods of data analysis depending on the type of information we’re trying to uncover in our research.

• Market Formulation: This step involves the finalization of market numbers. This step on an internal level is designed to manage outputs from the Data Analysis step.

• Data Normalization: The final market estimates and forecasts are then aligned and sent to industry experts, in-panel quality control managers for validation.

• This step also entails the finalization of the report scope and data representation pattern.

• Validation: The process entails multiple levels of validation. All these steps run in parallel, and the study is forwarded for publishing only if all three levels render validated results.

Commercial UAV Market Categorization:

The commercial UAV market was categorized into three segments, namely product (Fixed wing UAV, Rotary blade UAV, Hybrid UAV, Nano UAV), application (Agriculture, Retail, Energy, Media and Entertainment, Construction, Government), and regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa).

Segment Market Methodology:

The commercial UAV market was segmented into product, application, and regions. The demand at a segment level was deduced using a funnel method. Concepts like the TAM, SAM, SOM, etc., were put into practice to understand the demand. We at GVR deploy three methods to deduce market estimates and determine forecasts. These methods are explained below:

Market research approaches: Bottom-up

• Demand estimation of each product across countries/regions summed up to from the total market.

• Variable analysis for demand forecast.

• Demand estimation via analyzing paid database, and company financials either via annual reports or paid database.

• Primary interviews for data revalidation and insight collection.

Market research approaches: Top-down

• Used extensively for new product forecasting or analyzing penetration levels.

• Tool used invoice product flow and penetration models Use of regression multi-variant analysis for forecasting Involves extensive use of paid and public databases.

• Primary interviews and vendor-based primary research for variable impact analysis.

Market research approaches: Combined

• This is the most common method. We apply concepts from both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to arrive at a viable conclusion.

Regional Market Methodology:

The commercial UAV market was analyzed at a regional level. The global was divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa, keeping in focus variables like consumption patterns, export-import regulations, consumer expectations, etc. These regions were further divided into fifteen countries, namely, the U.S.; Canada; the UK; Germany; France; Italy; China; Japan; South Korea; Australia; Brazil; Mexico; UAE; Israel; South Africa.

All three above-mentioned market research methodologies were applied to arrive at regional-level conclusions. The regions were then summed up to form the global market.

Commercial UAV market companies & financials:

The commercial UAV market was analyzed via companies operating in the sector. Analyzing these companies and cross-referencing them to the demand equation helped us validate our assumptions and conclusions. Key market players analyzed include:

• AeroVironment, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is now headquartered in the United States. The company’s UAS business segment makes small UAS that wirelessly communicate real-time video using infrared or electro-optical sensors for applications such as reconnaissance, surveillance, tracking, and geographic data to the ground units. The company acquired Planck Aerosystems, Inc., a leading advanced unmanned aircraft navigation solutions supplier. The acquisition is expected to augment the company’s development of advanced autonomy capabilities considerably. It incorporates new product launches as one of its key strategies. In 2022, it introduced an easy-to-integrate multi-domain ISR switchblade 300 sensors to its shooter. In September 2022, the company launched VAPOR 55 MX, the next-generation VAPOR Helicopter UAS. It is intended to achieve new levels of operational performance with a revamped modular autonomous architecture. It enables enhanced endurance and expanded cargo capacity to satisfy the present and future needs of commercial customers.

• Intel Corporation is known to be one of the key market players in the technology domain. It was established in 1968 in the United States. It mainly operates in six business segments namely Client Computing Group (CCG), Datacenter and AI Group (DCAI), Network and Edge Group (NEX), Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group (AXG), Intel Foundry Services (IFS), and Mobileye (MBLY). It has an employee strength of 131,900 people. It sells Intel Aero, Intel Falcon 8+ System, and Intel Sirius Pro System as its technologically advanced products in the UAV market. It has a high level of geological presence across the globe accompanied by its highly advanced strategic approaches.

• Parrot Drones SAS is one of the key companies in the market for Europe and Latin America regions. The publicly held company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in France. The company primarily operates in three main segments, which are Automotive, which offers a range of infotainment solutions and wireless communication systems for automobiles; Civil Drones (UAVs) which supplies retail quadric-copters and professional solutions; and Connected Objects segment, which works in the area of sound systems and gardening as well. Right now it offers a wide range of products in its portfolio which includes products such as UAVs Parrot Bebop 2 Drone Parrot AR. Drone 2.0, Parrot Mini-drones, Sense Fly, ANAFI Thermal and more. It offers products that are primarily used in application areas such as First response and rescue operations, Photography, Surveillance, Mapping and 3D rendering, Humanitarian activities, Mining, Agriculture, Imaging, and Infrastructure management as well.

• Yuneec International Co., Ltd. is a privately held company that was formed in 1999 and has its headquarters in China. The company’s key product verticals include RC drones, fixed-wing RC airplanes, electric aircraft, aerial video quadcopters, E-longboards, and Steadicams. It has a range of products which accounts for a large share of the market. Yuneec International Co., Ltd. launched the H850-RTK commercial drone. The drone is primarily designed for use in public safety, surveying, and inspections. Owing to its wide range of portfolio which offers more than 10 products for purely commercial usage it is known for its high revenue in the industry.

• Bluebird Aero Systems Ltd is a privately held company that offers a range of products in the industry equipped with advanced endurance, high communication range, and cargo delivery capacity as well. The company’s products are considered highly reliable ones in the industry. Bluebird Aero Systems Ltd. launched two new wanderB-VTOL UAV systems. These drones come with an advanced camera and with the ability to land and take off vertically. In September 2022, the company received a contract from the Moroccan Army for the purchase of dozens of BlueBird Aero Systems of WanderB-VTOL and ThunderB-VTOL. It is one of the key players in regions such as North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA as well.

• SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. is a privately held company from China that was formed in 2006. DJI offers various imaging solutions, including aerial, handheld, and pro imaging, as well as drones for consumer and commercial application purposes. It also provides industrial solutions that consist of airframes, flight controllers, aerial gimbals, transmission, propulsion systems, infrared cameras, developers, and pro developers. Its product is featured with Ready-to-fly VTOL, integrated multi-rotor aircraft for aerial filming, and photography. The products offered by the company also have applications in industries such as Surveillance. Agriculture, Search and rescue, and Energy infrastructure as well. It has a high geological presence and advanced strategic initiatives have been helping the company to attain higher revenue from the time of inception.

• PrecisionHawk, Inc. was formed in 2010 and it is a privately held company that primarily serves commercial, agriculture, energy & mining, oil & gas, insurance & emergency response, railroad, infrastructure, forestry, utility, and environmental monitoring markets. Based on its wide range of products it has progressed through the market despite of having comparatively lesser revenue generation than other industry leaders. It is considered as one of the key competitors in the region of North America and Europe.

• Delair SAS was established in 2011 and is headquartered in France. The company's key application vertical includes security & defense, linear & infrastructures, and geospatial. Some of the products of Delair SAS include DT46 Series, DT26 Line, and UX11. Delair SAS acquired Notilo Plus SAS, a designer and producer of iBubble drones. With a new business unit called DELAIR MARINE, this acquisition will expand its service for commercial to the maritime environment. Delair SAS has been certified with ISO 9001 Quality Certification. This certification confirms the performance of their industrial production tools, which reflects their desire to gain efficiency along with customer satisfaction.

• DeltaQuad is a privately held company that was established in 2012 and now is headquartered in the Netherlands. DeltaQuad partnered with Agrowing Ltd., a provider of high-resolution, high-quality multispectral sensing solutions. This partnership is expected to offer high-resolution multispectral mapping on the DeltaQuad VTOL UAV. DeltaQuad expanded its operations by opening a new facility in Duivendrecht, a suburb of Amsterdam, to cater to the growing market demands. This expansion is expected to help the company increase its production capacity and serve more customers. DeltaQuad received confirmation from Transport Canada, a government department responsible for developing policies, regulations, and services for Canada's marine, rail, road, and air transportation. This approval means that all DeltaQuad Pro vehicles are now eligible for advanced drone operations.

• Vantage Robotics Atmos UAV B.V. is a privately held company that was established in 2013 in the United States. The company caters to 3 different verticals, which include defense, security, and inspections. It is known for its product namely VESPER. Vantage Robotics Atmos UAV B.V. introduced VESPER & Vision GCS, a next-generation elite small drone. The quadcopter drone has unique specifications that exceed the most exclusive federal security leaders Vantage Robotics Atmos UAV B.V. received a contract from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. The company received an order for Vantage’s Vesper drones, accessories, and training. It has a presence across the globe including in regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa as well.

Value chain-based sizing & forecasting

Supply Side Estimates

• Company revenue estimation via referring to annual reports, investor presentations, and Hoover’s.

• Segment revenue determination via variable analysis and penetration modeling.

• Competitive benchmarking to identify market leaders and their collective revenue shares.

• Forecasting via analyzing commercialization rates, pipelines, market initiatives, distribution networks, etc.

Demand side estimates

• Identifying parent markets and ancillary markets

• Segment penetration analysis to obtain pertinent

• revenue/volume

• Heuristic forecasting with the help of subject matter experts

• Forecasting via variable analysis

Commercial UAV Market Report Objectives:

• Understanding market dynamics (in terms of drivers, restraints, & opportunities) in the countries.

• Understanding trends & variables in the individual countries & their impact on growth and using analytical tools to provide high-level insights into the market dynamics and the associated growth pattern.

• Understanding market estimates and forecasts (with the base year as 2022, historic information from 2018 to 2021, and forecast from 2023 to 2030). Regional estimates & forecasts for each category are available and are summed up to form the global market estimates.

Commercial UAV Market Report Assumptions:

• The report provides market value for the base year 2022 and a yearly forecast till 2030 in terms of revenue/volume or both. The market for each of the segment outlooks has been provided on region & country basis for the above-mentioned forecast period.

• The key industry dynamics, major technological trends, and application markets are evaluated to understand their impact on the demand for the forecast period. The growth rates were estimated using correlation, regression, and time-series analysis.

• We have used the bottom-up approach for market sizing, analyzing key regional markets, dynamics, & trends for various products and end-users. The total market has been estimated by integrating the country markets.

• All market estimates and forecasts have been validated through primary interviews with the key industry participants.

• Inflation has not been accounted for to estimate and forecast the market.

• Numbers may not add up due to rounding off.

• Europe consists of EU-8, Central & Eastern Europe, along with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

• Asia Pacific includes South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania (Australia & New Zealand).

• Latin America includes Central American countries and the South American continent

• Middle East includes Western Asia (as assigned by the UN Statistics Division) and the African continent.

Primary Research

GVR strives to procure the latest and unique information for reports directly from industry experts, which gives it a competitive edge. Quality is of utmost importance to us, therefore every year we focus on increasing our experts’ panel. Primary interviews are one of the critical steps in identifying recent market trends and scenarios. This process enables us to justify and validate our market estimates and forecasts to our clients. With more than 8,000 reports in our database, we have connected with some key opinion leaders across various domains, including healthcare, technology, consumer goods, and the chemical sector. Our process starts with identifying the right platform for a particular type of report, i.e., emails, LinkedIn, seminars, or telephonic conversation, as every report is unique and requires a differentiated approach.

We send out questionnaires to different experts from various regions/ countries, which is dependent on the following factors:

• Report/Market scope: If the market study is global, we send questionnaires to industry experts across various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA.

• Market Penetration: If the market is driven by technological advancements, population density, disease prevalence, or other factors, we identify experts and send out questionnaires based on region or country dominance.

The time to start receiving responses from industry experts varies based on how niche or well-penetrated the market is. Our reports include a detailed chapter on the KoL opinion section, which helps our clients understand the perspective of experts already in the market space.