Report: Commercial UAV market to reach $2 billion by 2022

The global commercial UAV market is expected to reach $2.07 billion by 2022, according to a new study by Grand View Research Inc.

Increasing applications in agriculture and law enforcement are expected to drive commercial UAV industry growth over the forecast period. Commercial drones are finding applications across various industry verticals globally. Every industrialized country in the world is making investments in drones, thus driving the scope and technological developments for applications in the commercial UAV market.

Drones are contemporary alternatives for activities where human life cannot be risked. Such drones find applications in various industrial verticals including military, homeland security, retail and agriculture. The demand is significantly higher for military applications, although commercial applications are progressively catching up.

Aviation regulatory bodies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have imposed restrictions on the use of such drones taking into consideration the difficulties in managing such huge air traffic and the safety of the citizens. However, the FAA is known to be undertaking an initiative to accelerate the UAV approval process for public safety agencies and broaden access to civilian organizations for a variety of commercial, industrial and other applications.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

• Rotary blade drones accounted for more than 70 percent of the global market share owing to their easy maneuverability and compact design. Moreover, such single and multi-rotor drones equipped with rotary blades have Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) abilities for applications, where there is limitation of space for fixed blade drones to take off. The development of advanced hybrid UAVs that operate on non-conventional sources of energy and nano, small miniature drones serve multiple applications across various industry verticals.
• Government applications dominated the global commercial UAV industry constituting more than 40 percent of the market share in 2014. Increasing applications in law enforcement, security and surveillance, R&D activities, infrastructure, disaster management, and environmental studies have led to an increased demand for such unmanned aerial vehicles from the concerned government agencies. Innovative applications across agricultural sector have made it the fastest growing application segment, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of more than 18 percent from 2015 to 2022. Special agricultural drones can take snapshots of fields and help in analyzing crops. In addition, fix winged drones can be used for applications such as watering, spreading seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides over large farm fields that drastically reduce the time required and increase the efficiency.
• North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 16 percent over the forecast period on account of concentration of major drone manufacturers and increasing applications in the commercial sectors in the region. Governments and technology giants across the world are striving hard to provide internet to the people as a basic necessity. Facebook Inc. recently acquired Ascenta, a drone manufacturer for its pilot project to provide internet in remote areas using drones as movable wireless access points. Relaxation in regulations and increasing use of drones in law enforcement activities in Europe have led to the regional industry growth.
• Major industry participants include AeroVironment Inc., BAE Systems, DJI, Elbit Systems, Parrot SA, Israel Aerospace Industries, The Boeing Company, and Textron Inc. Manufacturers resort to mergers and acquisitions as their key growth strategy to make their presence felt in the industry. Augmented funding, technological collaborations, and government agencies are expected to emerge as critical success factors for industry growth.

Grand View Research has segmented the global commercial UAV market on the basis of product, application, and region:

• Commercial UAV Product Outlook (revenue, USD billion, 2012-2022)
  • Fixed wing
  • Rotary blade
  • Nano
  • Hybrid
• Commercial UAV Application Outlook (revenue, USD billion, 2012-2022)
  • Agriculture
  • Energy
  • Government
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Others
• Commercial UAV Regional Outlook (revenue, USD billion, 2012-2022)
  • North America
  • Europe
  • Asia Pacific
  • Latin America
  • MEA

Learn more about the report here.