The market for Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) is estimated to be $24.1 billion by 2026 and is analyzed to grow at a CAGR of 16.38% during the forecast period 2021-2026. APAC is growing at the highest CAGR of 19.08% in the forecast period owing to the rapid rise in investment for the defense, commercial and law enforcement bodies in the Asia Pacific region, which are mostly dominated by the countries such as China, India, Australia and South Korea. These countries are allotting a considerable budget for their defence & law enforcement grooming purposes. Besides, growing incidences of interpersonal stand-offs, border surveillance, asymmetric warfare, terrorist activities, preparation for the forthcoming combats, along with higher economic development and enhancement in the manufacturing industries, construction sector, and others are enhancing the market growth in the forecast period. South America is analyzed to grow at significant CAGR of 18.17% in the forecast period owing to the procurement of small UAS for ISR applications with synthetic aperture radar especially in countries like Brazil due to increasing defence budgets. Further in South America, small UAS and micro air vehicles are increasingly being adopted for industrial purposes, like surveying, mapping, mining, agriculture, and construction in the region. North America has dominated the market growth with 33% in 2020, owing to rising investment in the defense & homeland security budgets, especially in the United States, and higher development in the information technology & microelectronics industry is expected to fuel regional market growth substantially.
Report Coverage
The report: “Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Industry Outlook– Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market
Key Takeaways
- Adding up to this the significant rise in the investments and contracts from defence sector of various countries is boosting the small-UAS market during the forecast period.
- In January 2021, the French Defense Procurement Agency DGA chose Parrot SA, to supply its micro drones, ANAFI USA for three corps of the French Army.
- In FY 2019 budget, the Department of Defense had requested around $9.39 billion fund for unmanned systems and associated technologies. This includes funding for the procurement of 3,447 new air, ground, and sea drones.
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Segment Analysis – By Size
Very Small Unmanned aerial system is projected to reach US$ 12,787 million by 2026 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR 16.26% during 2021-2026. Very small unmanned aerial system consists of nano and macro UAS. Nano unmanned aerial systems are upto 250 gm and macro UAS are generally from 250 gm to 2 kg. This small size unmanned aerial system is hugely adopted for recreational purpose. There has been a high adoption of very small UAS owing to the rising demand for nano and macro-UAVs in precision agriculture offering strong potential to improve the efficiency of water, nutrient, and disease management. Such a wide range of applications of nano and macro UAS in agriculture sector is augmenting the market. Technological advancements in unmanned aerial system such as sensor miniaturization, flight precision, autonomy and cloud-based image processing are boosting the adoption of very small UAS in agriculture sector. Increasing penetration of nano and macro UAS in construction site for measuring real-time work progress or in mining sector to provide volumetric data on excavations has contributed to the growth of the market.
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Segment Analysis - By End Users
Among all the applications, the Recreational applications held a significant amount of market share in 2020 as they have a market share of $1.3 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 18.37% during the period 2021-2026. The market is growing due to its wide adoption of monitoring and surveying of remote locations in the region. Moreover, commercial or recreational drones are also being used for monitoring disaster-affected areas, providing aid to the victims, and for search & rescue missions. The commercial small unmanned aerial system (UAS) market continues to grow globally and was accelerated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Autonomy and artificial intelligence (AI) are, and will remain, the main drivers promoting commercial UAS adoption and associated market growth because autonomous flight reduces the need for expensive manpower whereas AI-driven data collection and processing reduces the time it takes to produce results that directly impact decision-making.
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Segment Analysis - By Geography
Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Market in North America region held significant market share of 36.6% in 2020. The adoption of sUASs in military applications, commercial applications and others are also witnessing the growth of sUASs in North America. Furthermore, many organizations like AirMap, Drone Map, Teal, Drone Seed, Cape and Others have also funded different technologies related to Small Unmanned Aerial Systems thereby driving the growth of the market. In addition, the presence of countries like Canada, Mexico in North American region most of the drones used are commercial ones owing to recreational purposes. In 2019, the government has announced to spend $738 billion in Defense sector by 2020 for various operations including modernization of equipment's. Moreover, the Defense spending in the country is rapidly increasing due to increased threats from other countries. In the year 2018 Mexico had a defense budget of around $ 6,568 million in 2018, a 13.6% increase from 2017 and it is expected to increase in the forecast period. These factors have driven the growth of the market in this region.
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Drivers
Rise in application of small UAS by Armed forces and Other government agencies
The market for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems is likely to benefit enormously from the rising safety concerns of Armed forces and different agencies around various parts of the globe. The rise in the application of small UAVs by different Government agencies has been promoting the growth of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems in the global market. Increasing safety concerns of armed forces and government agencies, such as to conduct reconnaissance missions and track illegal activities without risking their lives has been a major driving factor for the growth of small UAS in global market. For instance, applications of autonomous small UAS for surveillance in army bases, border regions and places of gatherings provide visual data of any sort of threats instantly to the operators. Moreover, the application of small UAS for surveillance in base camps, military convoys to safeguard army personnel has been a major driving factor for its growth. On April 2021, Exyn Technologies, a leading manufacturer of aerial robotics launched their new ExynAero, an autonomous small UAS which is considered to be the highest level of aerial autonomy especially designed for high-risk environments.
Growing Applications in Logistics Sector
Growing applications of small UAS for Logistic applications due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Logistic sector of global level has been facing a severe decline in their growth. Several governments imposed strict lockdowns to safeguard their economies and reduce the spread of the virus by reducing human contact. To overcome this severe damage, many countries across the globe have opted for Logistic operations using small UAS. For instance, in March 2020, Zipeline International set up small UAS delivery facility and distribution center across South Africa and Ghana. They have been delivering various medical products, live-saving drugs and other healthcare requirements in quick time without human interaction. The application of small UAS is expected to increase over the near future. This is expected to drive the market for small UAS in global level. Moreover, in India, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) gave approvals to brands like Dunzo, Spicejet, Zomato, and Swiggy to go ahead with BVLOS deliveries. These developments will bring major boost in forecast period for small UAS Market.
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Challenges:
Breach of Privacy
There has been several instance of breach of privacy in Europe with the application of small UAVs. The small size, ability to fly through low altitude and hard to detect makes small UAVs perfect for spying on people. This has also led to the ban of small UAVs across many countries in Europe. This is a key constraint for market growth for small UAVs in the region. Further, some countries have made it mandatory to have license to own any UAVs. Thus, this is for many consumers who were looking to purchase UAVs for leisure photography or as a entertainment device are now reluctant to go through the process of applying for license for purchasing small UAVs. In Jan 2021, EU announced its final set of rules for small unmanned aircrafts. The remote identification of UAVs has been levied to identify any UAV flying in the air. This is a key constrain in the market growth in small UAVs in Europe
Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market Landscape
Product launches, acquisitions, Partnerships and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market. Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Market top 10 companies include DJI, Aerovironment,Inc., Parrot Drones SAS, Precision AWK, Airbus SAS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corporation, General Atomics, Textron, Inc, Thales Group among others
Acquisitions/Product Launches
- On October 2020, Parrot entered into a strategic partnership with Colorado Drone Chargers, the global leader in field ready, high speed small UAS charging systems. The partnership aimed to design a revolutionary charging system for the ANAFI USA batteries, allowing professionals to simultaneously charge four Parrot ANAFI USA 3400mAh flight batteries in the field and in less time than a standard charging system.
- In 2020, UMS Skeldar launched V-150 UAV. The V-150 UAV is lightweighted with a takeoff weight of maximum 150kg. This UAV used signals intelligence equipment and infrared camera.
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