What’s next for drone businesses in 2025... thoughts?

General Drone Discussions
1

So I just read about some predictions for drone businesses in 2025, and there are some interesting trends. The drone industry is still dominated by small teams, with most companies having less than 10 employees. Asia is leading in global drone operations, with China still ruling the manufacturing side (mostly thanks to DJI). Mapping and surveying are still the biggest use cases, and despite everything going on with the economy, people in the industry seem to be optimistic about the future.

Curious what y’all think—are these trends surprising, or did we all see this coming?

2

Not surprised at all that China still owns the drone manufacturing game. DJI is basically untouchable at this point.

3

Weston said:
Not surprised at all that China still owns the drone manufacturing game. DJI is basically untouchable at this point.

Yeah, even with all the talk about banning Chinese drones in the U.S., DJI is still out here dropping new models every few months.

4

@SkySeeker
Right? They just launched the DJI Flip and Neo. The U.S. tried to ban them, but that didn’t make it into the final bill.

5

Wait, BVLOS flights are growing? What’s BVLOS?

6

Presley said:
Wait, BVLOS flights are growing? What’s BVLOS?

BVLOS = Beyond Visual Line of Sight. It basically means flying drones farther than you can physically see them. It’s a big deal because most places have strict rules about it.

7

@Pax
Ohh, got it. So it means longer-range flights are getting approved more?

8

Presley said:
@Pax
Ohh, got it. So it means longer-range flights are getting approved more?

Yeah, especially in places like the Middle East and Africa. Those regions are leading in BVLOS flights right now.

9

I feel like drone mapping and surveying are always gonna be the biggest use case. Every construction and agriculture company seems to need it.

10

MissNicklaus said:
I feel like drone mapping and surveying are always gonna be the biggest use case. Every construction and agriculture company seems to need it.

Yeah, 29% of drone business services are mapping and surveying. Inspections are growing fast too though.

11

@Dakota
Makes sense. The tech is getting better, and regulations are starting to allow more complex missions.

12

Didn’t expect to see South America in the conversation, but it sounds like drone use is growing fast there too.

13

Devon said:
Didn’t expect to see South America in the conversation, but it sounds like drone use is growing fast there too.

Yeah, South America’s drone flights are growing at a rapid rate. BVLOS flights there are up 62% from last year.

14

@Sky
I wonder if they’re getting ahead of some regions in regulations too? That could explain why BVLOS is growing there.

15

Even with inflation and everything going on, it’s interesting that drone businesses are optimistic about 2025.

16

Roux said:
Even with inflation and everything going on, it’s interesting that drone businesses are optimistic about 2025.

Yeah, industry confidence went up to 6.8/10 this year. Drone manufacturers are the most optimistic at 7.5.

17

@Weston
That’s kinda surprising considering how tough the economy has been. Guess the demand is still there.