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AFWERX program backs new technology for emergency teams and military wildfire efforts Picogrid and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Mission Innovation X (MIx) have been awarded a $1.75 million contract through the U.S. Department of the Air Force’s innovation program, AFWERX. The goal of the project is to develop new ways to help emergency […]
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New Transport Canada authorization expands BVLOS drone missions in low-density areas at night Volatus Aerospace has received a major approval from Transport Canada. The company can now conduct long-distance drone operations at night across Canada. These flights can take place in low-density areas, where fewer than 1,000 people live per square kilometer, and below 400 […]
The post Volatus Aerospace Approved for Nighttime Long-Distance Drone Flights Across Canada appeared first on DRONELIFE.
After years of rapid expansion, investment-fueled hype, and ambitious promises, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of reckoning for all sorts of industries, but especially drones. A notable rise in mergers and acquisitions, as well as some significant exits, suggests that the drone market in 2025 is consolidating.
“The drone industry is now facing a phase of realignment,” wrote Hendrik Boedecker, co-founder of Drone Industry Insights, in a January 2025 analysis. “Companies are reassessing their strategies to ensure long-term sustainability amid challenges such as regulatory hurdles, scalability and shifts in investment focus.”
That prediction is playing out in real time for the drone market in 2025. Just this year, major players have tightened their grip on the sector, while others have struggled to stay afloat. Most notable among them was Sony’s decision to discontinue its Airpeak S1 drone (and its related accessories) beginning March 31, 2025.
The result? A shrinking landscape with fewer players, which could also mean less innovation.
Throughout 2024 and the first few months of 2025, several key acquisitions have reshaped the industry. Here are some of the most notable (though this is hardly all):
“These vertical integration strategies reflect a maturing industry in which companies build comprehensive technological stacks rather than merely expanding market share through horizontal integration,” Boedecker noted in his blog post.
His post included the following infographic, outlining many of these consolidations:
Consolidation is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many companies are thriving through consolidation. But it’s not all good news. Since January, several high-profile companies have either shut down or pivoted away from the drone industry entirely.
One of the biggest exits of 2025 was Sony’s decision to discontinue its Airpeak S1 drone. Despite Sony’s strong brand and technological prowess, the Airpeak struggled to carve out market share in a sector dominated by DJI in the camera drone space. It’s dominated by largely Skydio (a California-based drone maker) in the enterprise space. Sony announced that it would end sales by March 2025, marking the end of its relatively short-lived drone experiment.
And though we hear a lot about growth within drone delivery, it’s not all rosy. For example, Aerit, a Swedish drone delivery startup, filed for bankruptcy in May 2024 after failing to secure funding.
And SkyDrop (formerly Flirtey) shut down operations in late 2024 after failing to achieve profitability.
“The drone delivery market has faced major headwinds,” Boedecker wrote on DII. “Despite technological readiness, achieving profitability remains complex. The cost of drone operations, limited regulatory approvals, and inconsistent demand have made it difficult for many companies to sustain their business models.”
Consumer tech has long been hurting for pretty much all companies except DJI. 2024 and the early months of 2025 have demonstrated that delivery and other enterprise tech is at least seeing some struggle. Alas, One of the most striking trends for drones in 2025 is the shift toward military and defense applications.
“Current geopolitical tensions and domestic political uncertainties have significantly influenced investment patterns, particularly directing resources toward defense applications,” Boedecker writes.
Major venture capital (VC) firms are shifting investments away from commercial drone applications toward military and government contracts. And indeed, we’re seeing militaries heavily use drones. Mary-Lou Smulders, Chief Marketing Officer at Dedrone, outlined in a guest post for The Drone Girl how the war in Ukraine has redefined military airspace strategy.
For instance, Shield AI, Red Cat, and Patria — all originally focused on commercial and industrial drone applications — have now pivoted almost entirely toward military contracts.
As the drone industry consolidates, the drone market in 2025 will look very different from previous years. Some key takeaways:
“Success in the current market requires a balanced approach that combines technological innovation with practical business considerations and realistic market expectations,” Boedecker wrote.
The question now isn’t whether the drone industry will survive — it’s which companies will be left standing when the dust settles.
The post Acquisitions (and fight for survival) suggest challenges for drone market in 2025 appeared first on The Drone Girl.
On a recent Friday in Omdurman, a city just across the Nile River from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, the Rapid Support Forces [RSF], a paramilitary group locked in a brutal civil war, claimed a significant strike against the Sudanese Armed Forces [SAF]. According to multiple reports circulating on social media platforms like X, the RSF used […]New agreement with KISMEC connects certified drone operators to agriculture industry opportunities On March 25, 2025, Terra Drone Corporation announced that its Malaysian subsidiary, Terra Drone Agri, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Kumpulan Inovasi dan Sumber Manusia untuk Pendidikan (KISMEC). KISMEC is a Malaysian vocational training institution focused on workforce development. This […]
The post Terra Drone Agri Partners with Malaysian Training Center to Support Drone Pilot Jobs appeared first on DRONELIFE.
SPH Engineering removes barriers with powerful new version of its flight planning software—available to all by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian J. McNabb Riga, Latvia-based UAV software and integration services provider SPH Engineering recently announced the launch of UgCS Open, a free version of its flight planning software. Providing many of the same 3D pathing, terrain-aware […]
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Join us on Tuesday, April 1, at 3:00 PM EST for the next episode of the Public Safety Drone Review, a free, live event presented by DRONERESPONDERS in collaboration with DRONELIFE. This month’s guest is Steven Katz, Vice President at Flying Lion, Inc., a leader in providing Drone as First Responder (DFR) and UAS support […]
The post Upcoming Public Safety Drone Review Highlights Remote Training and Real-World Operations with Flying Lion’s Steven Katz appeared first on DRONELIFE.
Small drones biggest development in combat since nuclear weapons By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill Small, first-person view (FPV) drones are rapidly becoming the most significant weapon of modern warfare, the CEO of a technology-oriented defense contractor said in an interview. Ryan Gury, CEO of Performance Drone Works (PDW), said the widespread and effective use […]
The post The New King of Combat: How Small FPV Drones Are Reshaping Modern Warfare appeared first on DRONELIFE.
When it comes to the drones that fly during drone shows, there isn’t much in the way of drones that are a household name the way DJI is when it comes to camera drones. But that’s quickly changing, and it’s all due to UVify.
The American drone maker is the team that makes drones for all sorts of light show drone companies, including Illumin (which was recently named the official drone light show provider for the City of Toronto), Sky Elements and Pixis Drones. UVify is currently headquartered in Seattle, with plans to move to San Francisco in 2025, though drones are actually made in South Korea.
And with a market share of approximately 90% in North America, the drone has earned a reputation within the niche drone show industry as a global leader in drone entertainment.
Here’s what you need to know about the company that could very soon become just as well-known in the drone industry as a name like DJI.
UVify wasn’t always a maker of light show drones. The company was founded in South Korea in 2014 by PhDs in aerospace engineering. It’s gone through a few different iterations. For example, it had a brief period where it tried manufactured consumer-oriented products: the award-winning UVify Draco racing drone and OOri smart micro racing drone. And while primarily focused on light shows, even today UVify has its hands in a few different aspects of drones, including via a collaboration with DARPA on swarm drone technologies.
UVify raised a $4 million Series A over a decade ago and has since achieved profitability — something that is hardly true of many Silicon Valley companies today. Though privately held, they remain open to strategic investments.
Today, UVify estimates that it has approximately a 90% market share for light show drones in North America. Though not independently verified by The Drone Girl, UVify claims it has sold more drones in North America than all competitors combined, and that its drones have logged more flight hours and conducted more overall drone shows than any other company in the industry.
UVify is also the team behind multiple record-breaking drone shows, as confirmed by Guinness World Records. Some of those have to do with shows that are large in size, such as a record set in May 2024 for most drones flown simultaneously. It has also put on record-breaking shows in collaboration with its clients, such as a Sky Elements drone show that shaped 2,484 UVify IFO drones into a hummingbird in the sky for IAAPA 2024,
After experimenting with all sorts of products including, yes, once a racing drone, the company’s light show drone — called the UVify’s IFO (Identified Flying Object) — today is the company’s flagship product. Here are some key specs around that drone:
When you buy light show drones through UVify, you get a turnkey system with everything you need to get started launching your own light show business including training, hardware, software, 24/7 support every day of the year, and access to the company’s Fleet Augmentation Bank (more on that later).
UVify sells their drones for about $1,300 each. Though, you can’t buy just one. You need at least a small fleet to put on a drone show, so be prepared to spend much more than $1,300. To buy one, you’ll have to go through a UVify sales representative directly. Turns out, you can’t just shop for a high-end light show drone on Amazon).
Want to buy a UVify IFO drone? Mention UVify promo code DGIFO to your UVify sales representative to receive a 5% discount plus an additional free battery and set of high-performance props per IFO.
UVify also launched a module that can turn UVify drones into something more — a pyro drone too. It’s called the IFO-P, and it costs about $500 extra per module deck. With it, you can load a gerb (a type of spark spewing firework) onto the module, which has its own firing system. From there, the pyro operator can work with the chief drone pilot to decide when to launch the pyro.
Sky Elements, who uses the IFO, was the first drone show company to receive FAA approval to perform a pyro drone show in the U.S. The company holds the Guinness World Record for most pyro launched from drones. Watch a behind-the-scenes video for that show here:
Of course, incorporating pyro into a drone show costs more than just $1,300 per drone plus $500 for the module. Budget for fireworks for every show. Unlike drones, the pyro isn’t reusable.
UVify’s FAB (Fleet Augmentation by UVify) rental model makes professional-grade light shows accessible to businesses of all sizes. This innovative approach eliminates the need for customers to purchase or maintain massive drone fleets. Instead, existing UVify can borrow additional drones needed to put on larger than average shows by way of accessing UVify’s rental bank.
In exchange for getting to borrow drones, UVify’s customers must agree to split the revenue from the contract 50-50 with UVify. So, if a UVify customer had 100 drones but needed 200 for a show, they could borrow 100 from UVify. Say the contract is worth $60,000 (thus $300 per drone), then the operator would keep $45,000 while paying $15,000 to UVify in exchange for renting 100 additional drones.
Events like IAAPA 2024 made it clear that drone light shows are in demand everywhere, from small weddings to big theme park displays. As the drone light show industry grows, UVify is a company to watch.
Companies that use UVify drones now range from major, nationwide drone light show companies to small, local drone show operators. Names include Pinnacle Drone Light Shows, which is based in Oakland, California and Sky Lites, which is based in Oregon.
So where can you find them going forward? Next up, UVify will be exhibiting at Cobra-Con 2025, which is a massive show for pyrotechnic professionals in Muncie, Indiana running from April 10-12, 2025. UVify COO Robert Cheek will be speaking and showing off UVify’s heavy-lift pyro drone called the Vulcan. And there’s another reason why UVify’s appearance at Cobra-Con might make it one of the top drone events of 2025. That’s because UVify will even put on a drone show incorporating its pyro drones.
The post UVify: how the DJI of light show drones grew to dominate drone shows appeared first on The Drone Girl.
The British and United States Armies have launched Project VANAHEIM, an initiative aimed at improving Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) operations, with a focus on detecting, tracking, identifying, and neutralising Class 1 Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) threats, according to a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice published by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) on 21 March 2025. […]