– MARSS, a global defence technology company, has enjoyed a leading role at Red Sands 2024 – showcasing its end-to-end integrated Counter UAS systems. Jointly organised by the US Army DEVCOM, ARCENT, and the Royal Saudi Air Forces, Red Sands 24.2 provided a test-bed for the latest technological solutions to deal with the rising threat […]
– Tekever, a provider of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), has signed an MoU with Droneway, a distributor of civil and tactical drones in Morocco and North Africa. The partnership, unveiled at the 2024 Marrakech Air Show, will see Tekever support the development of Morocco’s drone industry through the establishment of a post-sales office and investment […]
Hundreds of drones have helped save more than 100 young people, including a 9-year-old, who were subway surfing on New York City trains in the past year, according to Mayor Eric Adams. The mayor said there have been 900 NYPD drones deployed that have caught and stopped 114 riders, including one that was just 9 […]
Kazakh Defense Minister, Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov has visited Istanbul, Turkey to participate in the SAHA EXPO Defense and Aerospace Exhibition. Zhaksylykov held discussions with Turkish counterparts, including National Defense Minister Yasar Guler and President of the Defense Industry Agency Haluk Gorgun, Caliber.Azreports, citing the Kazakh defense ministry. The talks with CEO of Baykar Defense […]
In the first air-to-air trial of its kind, the crew of a Wildcat used the Martlet missile – designed to take out enemy surface targets – to destroy a Banshee jet flying at hundreds of miles an hour over the Bristol Channel. The helicopter operates from UK Royal Navy frigates, destroyers and aircraft carriers performing […]
The Diverse Range of Drones Supports Tactical and Strategic Needs on the Battlefield Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense is building a robust drone fleet as it modernizes and expands support for its Armed Forces. From reconnaissance to targeted strikes, Ukraine’s diverse mix of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) highlights the crucial role drones play in both military […]
Marubeni Aerospace Partners with LIFT Aircraft to Bring HEXA eVTOL to Japan LIFT Aircraft, in partnership with Marubeni Aerospace, plans to launch its unique pay-per-flight eVTOL service in Japan during World Expo 2025. Following successful demonstrations in Osaka and an exhibition at SusHi Tech 2024 in Tokyo, the collaboration marks Japan as the first market […]
In this episode of the Weekly Wings podcast, hosts Paul Rossi, Samuel Stansberry, and Terry Neff dive into a range of engaging topics surrounding drones and technology. They start by sharing personal memories of attending big sporting events, like Yankees games and UFC matches, highlighting how these traditions bring joy and nostalgia. Shifting to current […]
What will the 2025 drone industry look like? What challenges lie ahead? What opportunities will drone companies prioritize in the next year?
While a lot of things change, one thing in particular remains steadfast in the drone industry. Regulatory obstacles remain the top challenge for the drone industry 2024, as has been the case for years now.
That’s according to the Global State of Drones 2024 report, which was based on 964 survey responses from drone users across a record 94 countries, collected between May and July 2024. The survey, conducted by German-based analytics group Drone Industry Insight, polled industry representatives who span everything from small business owners to leaders at massive companies with more than 500 people. They considered the hardware, software and service provider sector.
So with that, here are some of the most encouraging things about drones to come in 2025. And of course, here’s also a look at the biggest challenges for drones in 2025:
Where drone businesses anticipate prioritizing resources in 2025?
(Chart courtesy of DII)
As is the case in most years, marketing and sales is a top priority for drone businesses in 2025. After all, work (for most people, at least) is about making money. 31% of respondents in DII’s survey said that marketing and sales is their top priority in 2025.
Here’s a breakdown of how drone businesses are prioritizing resources in 2025 ranked from most to least percent of businesses that said it was a priority:
Marketing and sales (31%)
Software development (17%)
Finances and funding (16%)
Staff development (16%)
Hardware development (15%)
Other (6%)
Marketing and sales is far and away the standout priority for the 2025 drone industry, but it’s also interesting to look at historical data. For the past couple years, marketing and sales has been a top priority for about 31-33% of drone companies. But that figure has increased from the high 20 percents up until 2022, when it skyrocketed to 33%.
While marketing and sales has long been a priority, finances and funding is at least a growing priority. That interest has grown from 12% in 2019 to 16% in 2024, only seeing a slight dip in 2021. Hardware development has also seen a slight uptick in prioritization.
And what sorts of things are businesses prioritizing less? The biggest factor is staff development. Though that begs some interesting questions.
“Is it becoming less important to develop staff because new staff are already prepared?” DII asked in an analysis of the data. “Or are companies simply investing less in their people and more in their products?”
Top concerns among drone companies in 2025
According to DII’s Global State of Drones 2024 report, client acquisition has become a relatively new concern. Other growing concerns for the 2025 drone industry include fears about acquiring funding for scaling up. There’s also that growing focus on domestic politics over geopolitical issues.
(Chart courtesy of DII)
So with that, here are the top concerns among drone companies for the year ahead, ranked from biggest to smallest concern:
Regulatory obstacles
Client acquisition
Domestic politics
Acquiring additional funding to scale up
Public awareness or acceptance
Finding and acquiring qualified personnel
Competition within the industry
Inflation and economic cycles
Logistics
Geopolitics
As was the case last year, regulatory obstacles reign supreme as top obstacle for drone companies worldwide.
It’s particularly pronounced in the U.S. where regulation around Remote ID proved challenging and confusing. Final rule for Remote ID deadlines were continuously extended, and even uptick in adoption of Remote ID modules has been low (despite the rule officially in effect now).
Now the FAA has certainly made some major drone approvals, speeding up or processes or removing barriers in the U.S. For example, the FAA has begun issuing approvals to launch fireworks from drones. The NYPD just earned a historic FAA approval to fly drones beyond-line-of-sight (BVLOS) across much of NYC without needing either a visual observer or even other type of specialized equipment to detect other aircraft. But that might all mean nothing if politicians crack down on drones. A largely Republican-driven effort has sought to ban Chinese-made drones in the U.S. That’s left many drone businesses wondering if they should even buy DJI drones amidst a Chinese drone ban.
But optimists might not look at regulation as so much of a challenge as more of a market driver.
“The share of participants who considered rulemaking authorities as the top market drivers increased from 52% last year to 57% this year,” according to DII. “In other words, regulation remained the top challenge. But with more regulations being implemented and taking effect around the world, regulation is perhaps starting to be seen as less of a [negative] “challenge” and more of a [positive] “market driver.”
(Chart courtesy of DII)
Past problems that are concerns no more (or at least of less concern)
Then again, previous concerns — notably inflation and public acceptance — have decreased in importance for drone companies. Inflation truly has been less stark now than it was in past years, so that one isn’t all that surprising. In fact, inflation was the third-biggest concern in last year’s version of the same report. Yet this year, it fell in concern to 8th place.
Meanwhile, as drones become more widely used, perhaps it’s also unsurprisingly that public acceptance is less of an issue than it once was. Perhaps anecdotes like Sky Elements making the America’s Got Talent Season 19 winning podium and the increasingly affordability of camera drones (hello $200 DJI Neo) has something to do with it.
– MARSS, a global defence technology company, has enjoyed a leading role at Red Sands 2024 – showcasing its end-to-end integrated Counter UAS systems. Jointly organised by the US Army DEVCOM, ARCENT, and the Royal Saudi Air Forces, Red Sands 24.2 provided a test-bed for the latest technological solutions to deal with the rising threat […]
