Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Global Commercial UAS Market Outlook, 2020, finds that the industry is transitioning from a nascent to a growth stage. With the surge in demand for commercial drones by the professional segment, unit shipment is estimated to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5%, reaching 2.91 million units by 2023 from 2.44 million units in 2019. By 2023, North America will remain the largest market for commercial UAS with a total of a 32.3%-unit demand, followed by APAC and Europe at 29.1% and 23.3%, respectively.
“Unit growth is driven by increasing regulatory support for commercial drone use in the APAC region, especially India,” said Michael Blades, Aerospace, Defense, and Security Vice President at Frost & Sullivan. “There is also a significant increase in demand for professional segment drones to conduct crop spraying in China and other countries in APAC. Drone service companies tend to focus on specific verticals because a “one-size-fits-all” business model does not work. Further, as companies gain experience through operations, those that can best innovate to meet specific end-user needs will prosper.”
Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) for both autonomous flight and data processing, as well as platforms that have unique capabilities such as long endurance flights and conducting indoor/confined spaces inspections, are key trends inflating market growth.
