Drone Market 14.9 Billion in 4 Years: Small Drones a Driving Force

A new report says that the drone market is expected to reach 14.9 billion by 2020 – just 3-4 short years away.  The report also says that small drones will be a driving market force.

“Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market by Class… – Global Forecast to 2020” by Research and Markets is a comprehensive study of drones in the defense, commercial, and homeland security sectors, and provides a analysis of the market between 2015 and 2020. It discusses the industry, market, and technology trends that are currently prevailing in the UAV market. The global drone market was valued at 10.1 Billion (USD) in 2015 ; the predicted 14.9 Billion by 2020 means a CAGR of 8.12% in the period.

This report says that the US still represents more than 1/2 – about 65% of the market for drone technology, including military drones.  Israel, China, India, and Europe are all contributing to demand, with Russia and the UK showing as leading emerging markets.

Some of the key takeaways from the report:

– The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market is expected to show a strong growth during the study period, with the increase in functionality of UAVs and demand for UAVs in the civil and commercial sector
– The demand for UAVs is expected to be triggered by the growing need for autonomous control systems and efficient operability in future
– Survivability and adaptability to the external environmental conditions during remote missions, and communications with the station in such situations are some of the challenges for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Market
– The use of small UAVs in performing civil and commercial operations such as photography, wild life research & survey, agriculture, surveying & mapping and other new applications have triggered the demand for UAVs in the commercial sector

While reports on the drone market frequently disagree about how fast the drone market will grow, all concur that the only way is up.  With the enactment of Part 107 last month, the FAA estimates that small drone operators will increase to 600,000 in a year, an explosion of new providers in the sector.  It looks like demand for their services may be able to keep up.