Commercial Drone Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Fixed-wing, Rotary Blade, Hybrid), By Application, By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global commercial drone market size was valued at USD 13.44 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57.5% from 2021 to 2028. In terms of volume, the demand was recorded at 689.4 thousand units in 2020. Drones are used for multiple applications ranging from filmmaking to emergency response. Additionally, these devices are witnessing a high demand in the real estate and construction sector owing to their ability to survey lands, provide continuous and precise project notifications, improve safety, and prevent dangerous incidents on construction sites. Business use cases for drones have witnessed considerable growth over the past few years. Market participants such as drone manufacturers and software solution providers are constantly engaged in designing, testing, and improving solutions for various markets.

On the other hand, traditional use cases, including security, surveillance, and monitoring, are expected to grow primarily in sectors where labor costs and crime rates are high. Drones are widely used at dangerous and inaccessible places for mapping out elevated infrastructure that may have damaged power lines and unstable roofs as well as for search and rescue activities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak across the globe, there has been a considerable increase in the utilization of drone technology across various scenarios, with drones proving to be of immense assistance in such situations. Drones are being widely adopted in the healthcare sector for lab sample pickup and delivery as well as transportation of medical supplies for reducing transportation turnaround time and curtailing the exposure to infection. As per the UNICEF, so far, more than eighteen countries have deployed drones for delivery and transportation purposes during the pandemic.

The integration of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in drones offers significant growth prospects to the market. Drones integrated with AI technology can better understand their surroundings; map areas accurately, track and monitor the movement of specific objects, as well as offer precise analytical feedback. Additionally, they offer real-time, data-driven decision-making ability to their users by ensuring rapid capturing, processing, and transferring of data. AI-powered drones also enable users to collaborate and access feed captured by other drones and trace drone flight patterns in real-time. AI and ML, coupled with predictive learning models, facilitate faster data analysis to offer actionable insights.

The advent of the 5G delivery model and integration of cloud computing technology with the drone development process is anticipated to provide lucrative growth opportunities to the commercial drone market. The availability of high-speed internet in drones enables users to communicate in high demanding environments to perform operations such as media sharing, command and control, and autonomous flying. The provision to practice efficient 5G network sharing enables service providers to offer seamless mobile broadband connectivity, ultra-low latency communications, and massive Machine-to-Machine (M2M) type communications deployment. This facilitates service providers to offer Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) model to their users, thus ensuring continual business expansion and generation of new revenue streams.

Product Insights

The rotary blade segment accounted for the largest share of almost 80.0% in terms of volume in 2020 and is expected to continue dominating the market over the forecast period. The demand for rotary blade drones is expected to increase for inspection activities due to their ability to maintain a visual on a single target for a long time and to hover and perform agile maneuvering. These drones are typically considered a viable option for various commercial applications, such as filming and photography, surveillance, and monitoring. Moreover, they are easier to control as compared to their fixed-wing and hybrid counterpart.

The hybrid segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of about 64.0% from 2021 to 2028 in terms of volume. Hybrid commercial drones use the advantages of batteries and fuel combined to maximize their power and efficiency. Additionally, these drones fly for a longer duration with higher payloads even in adverse weather conditions. Technology giants such as Facebook and Amazon are using hybrid drones for providing internet connectivity in remote areas and for efficient parcel delivery, respectively.

Application Insights

The filming and photography segment accounted for the largest revenue share of approximately 31.0% in 2020 and is expected to continue dominating the market over the forecast period. Drones are becoming an essential part of professional photography and are increasingly being accepted by photographers to gain a competitive edge. Companies such as DJI are designing miniature drone cameras for professional photographers, which can capture high-quality photographs. Additionally, landscapes and areas that were inaccessible earlier can now be easily captured. In September 2014, when the FAA allowed the commercial drone flight, filmmakers were not among the first in line. However, today, there is an entire sub-industry of drone pilots providing services to the film and entertainment sector.

The precision agriculture segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of over 60.0% from 2021 to 2028, as drones have become one of the critical aspects for managing vital operations of farms. Farmers across the globe are trying to reduce agriculture costs and expand yields. With the help of drones, farmers and agriculture workers can gather farm data, automate redundant processes, and thus maximize efficiency. Additionally, drones assist farmers in numerous tasks, including field monitoring and analysis, and planning of crop plantations to identify the growth and health of crops. Companies such as Raptor Maps, a U.S.-based agriculture analytics provider, use drones to help farmers better understand their possible harvest.

End-use Insights

The media and entertainment segment accounted for the largest market share of almost 27.0% in 2020 and is expected to continue dominating the market over the forecast period. The applications of drones in media and entertainment are diverse. Filmmakers have started using professional drones for capturing precise frames in the best economical way. The increasing demand from clients and owners for advertising resorts, hotels, tourist spots, public places, and amusement parks through aerial photography is anticipated to boost the segment's growth.

The delivery and logistics segment is anticipated to exhibit the highest CAGR of over 60.0% from 2021 to 2028. Drones are set to transform the delivery and logistics sector worldwide due to the emergence of the e-commerce industry. With the growing demand for the swift delivery of goods, drones are increasingly being deployed in e-commerce warehouses for the warehousing of products and delivery of goods. Warehouses globally are investing heavily to further increase the level of automation. UAVs are useful in tasks and operations that require longer man-hours. One of the key use-cases of drones in warehouses is barcode scanning.

Regional Insights

North America accounted for the largest market share of around 37.0% in terms of volume in 2020 and is anticipated to witness significant growth over the next seven years owing to favorable government initiatives, advancements in drone technology, and the growing demand from businesses across various industries. Moreover, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the U.S. has released new regulations to provide more coherent and consistent guidelines concerning the legal and safe operation of UAVs in commercial spaces. Such rules and regulations are expected to reduce entry barriers and increase product adoption in the region.

Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit the fastest growth in terms of volume, registering a CAGR of 63.1% from 2021 to 2028. The regional demand for commercial drones is anticipated to exceed 9 million units by 2028, surpassing North America. The market growth is anticipated to be driven by a favorable regulatory landscape, especially among the developed nations. Several governments are constantly working on formulating new regulations for the commercial applications of drones. Moreover, numerous start-up companies are testing new applications of drones for commercial purposes and working on enhancing the safety of the drones.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is consolidated with a few market participants accounting for significant market shares. Drone manufacturers and providers worldwide are developing custom-made industry-specific solutions to effectively address the business needs of their customers. Advancements in drone technologies have made it possible for manufacturers to produce a wide range of models in different sizes, weights, and shapes, which are capable of carrying different sensor payloads, making them useful across a broad application base. Some of the prominent players operating in the global commercial drone market are:

• DJI

• Parrot Drones SAS

• YUNEEC

• 3D Robotics

• EHANG

Commercial Drone Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2028. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global commercial drone market report based on product, application, end-use, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Fixed-wing

  • Rotary Blade

  • Hybrid

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Filming & Photography

  • Inspection & Maintenance

  • Mapping & Surveying

  • Precision Agriculture

  • Surveillance & Monitoring

  • Others

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Agriculture

  • Delivery & Logistics

  • Energy

  • Media & Entertainment

  • Real Estate & Construction

  • Security & Law Enforcement

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Australia

    • Japan

    • South Korea

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa (MEA)

    • UAE

    • Israel

    • South Africa