The global civil drone market was valued at US$ 6.56 Bn in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 21.61 Bn by 2027
Drones are conventionally defined as remotely operated robots controlled by a pilot and are today used in large number of industry sectors for enhanced autonomous operations. As these devices are operated in a semi-autonomous mode, the supporting telecom infrastructure for wireless internet connectivity. There are various stakeholders in the global civil drone market ecosystem. Numerous aviation regulatory authorities across the globe deploy regulatory measures governing the operations of the civil drones to ensure commercial viability as well as public safety. The telecom infrastructure providers are another crucial stakeholders operating in this ecosystem as their infrastructures laid down govern the connectivity and communication amongst the various parties involved in the operations of the drone.
Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the 10 US states have approved to implement a three-year commercial drone pilot program. Several companies such as Alphabet, Apple, Airbus, Intel, Uber, Microsoft, and Qualcomm are selected as the companies which can participate in this program. This announcement creates a huge opportunity for the US drone industry to implement drone across the US. These initiative provide various benefits to the US drone-based companies located in the region thus, increasing the growth of civil drone market.
The top five market leaders in civil drone market include SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd., Parrot SA, 3D Robotics, Inc., Insitu, Inc., and Yuneec International. The above listing of top players is based on multiple factors such as overall sales, current civil drone products and services portfolio, investment in technology upgradation, mergers & acquisitions and other joint activities. Companies have taken several market initiatives to expand their footprint across the world and to fulfill the growing demand of the market. In 2018, PrecisionHawk completed Acquires Uplift Data Partners. Through this acquisition, PrecisionHawk’s expertise and technology strengthened in the high growth civil drone market. It also supported the company to offer aerial data and analytics construction projects.
The players present in the civil drone market mainly concentrate towards the contracts, partnerships, collaboration, acquisition, product developments. Activities for the deployment of new technological solutions across the world is permitting these companies to maintain their brand name globally. Most of the market initiative was observed in the North America region. Few of the important civil drone market initiatives from the industry are mentioned below:
| Year | News | Country |
| 2019 | 3DR and PCL Construction signed a multiyear drone software agreement. Under this agreement, 3DR is subjected to commercialize its Site Scan in offices, districts, and other projects globally. | North America |
| 2019 | Yuneec International and Mobilicom entered into a partnership to provide innovative solutions to the Enterprise and Federal market for their respective unmanned aerial needs. The new and advanced drone solutions are ideal for long-range, beyond-line of sight, non-line-of-sight, and urban operations for public safety, security, naval, and disaster relief operations. | APAC |
| 2019 | AeroVironment received a contract award for RQ-11B Raven small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and initial spares packages. The company has granted with a contract award from the US Army for its Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB). | North America |
| 2019 | Aerodyne Ventures announced receiving an undisclosed investment from Japan-based drone company Drone Fund in a deal which will consolidate their position in the Japanese market. | APAC |
| 2019 | 3DR and PCL Construction signed a multiyear drone software agreement. Under this agreement, 3DR is subjected to commercialize its Site Scan in offices, districts, and other projects globally. | North America |
