At present, the global low-altitude economy is developing rapidly, and UAVs, as a key segment, are expected to usher in broad market opportunities.
According to the latest data from the Civil Aviation Administration, as of December 2023, the number of registered drones in China has exceeded 1.18 million, and the number of medium and large drones has exceeded 100,000.
Unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as remotely piloted aircraft, are aviation equipment managed by a control station, and can be operated remotely or autonomously.
At present, military drones occupy a dominant position in the market, and in the field of civilian drones, according to their different functions, they can be divided into two categories: consumer drones and industrial drones.
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Sorting out the UAV industry chain
The UAV industry chain is a complex integration with a wide range of coverage and diversified fields, in which each link is highly interdependent, and the value is mainly concentrated in some key links.
The UAV industry chain includes upstream raw materials and parts manufacturing, midstream UAV components and complete machine research and development, and downstream diversified application scenarios. The key raw materials in the upstream link are divided into two categories: metal and non-metal, including titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, glass fiber and carbon fiber, etc., and key electronic components include chips, boards, motors and batteries.
The market demand for upstream high-end raw material products is strong, and the competition pattern is relatively stable, and the entry threshold of the structural parts processing industry is low, so the competition is even more fierce.
The main upstream materials include carbon fiber composite materials, titanium alloys, etc., which are mainly supplied by AVIC Hi-Tech, Zhongfu Shenying, Guangwei Composites, Zhongjian Technology, Western Superconductor, Baoti Co., Ltd., Western Materials, etc.;
The midstream link of the industrial chain is mainly responsible for providing key components such as power system, avionics system, mission load, ground system and integrated support system, while the downstream link is the integration of the whole machine, which gathers the participation of central enterprise research institutes, universities and private enterprises.
Diagram of the UAV industry chain:
Source: Xingxingcha
The flight control system is the brain of the UAV and an important branch of the UAV avionics system. It has a highly complex airborne system, integrating the power system, navigation system, flight control system itself, communication system and airframe manufacturing, etc., which is the core of the entire flight process of the UAV from take-off, air flight, mission execution to return to the field.
The research and development of flight control systems includes many important fields such as electromechanical equipment, electronic software and hardware, and algorithms. At the technical level, the flight control system of UAVs is facing huge challenges, and mature markets have put forward high safety, large-scale and highly automated operation requirements for UAVs.
Progress has been made in the flight control system of consumer, small and medium-sized industrial drones, but the flight control system of large drones still needs to be further developed and optimized.
Diagram of UAV flight control system:
The ground system of the UAV industry chain is the core command center of the UAV system, including multiple subsystems such as telemetry detection, ground monitoring, data processing, and take-off and landing.
The mission payload system is the key carrier to realize the functions of the UAV, which is composed of cameras, radars, sensors, etc. Military UAV mission payload system includes reconnaissance and surveillance payloads, communication payloads, electronic countermeasure payloads, target equipment payloads and weapons and ammunition payloads, etc., which are currently developing in the direction of complexity, multi-task, and intelligence, and multispectral/hyperspectral imaging, synthetic aperture radar and other related products are under development.
In terms of avionics systems, companies such as AVIC, Xingwang Yuda, and Dawn Aviation have made layouts, while listed companies such as Dali Technology, Guangdong Hongda, and Aerospace Rainbow are mainly engaged in the business operation of UAV mission payload systems.
Whole machine manufacturing
The key link of UAV assembly and integration is the participation of scientific research institutes, colleges and universities and private enterprises under military central enterprises. Listed companies of central enterprises include China UAV, Aerospace Rainbow and Aerospace Electronics, while private enterprises include Zongheng Co., Ltd., Xingwang Yuda and Guandian Defense.
Diagram of the representative manufacturer of the UAV assembly part:
According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, an international consulting firm, China currently has more than 1,300 drone manufacturers. Domestic manufacturers occupy a dominant position in the global market, and the domestic market has basically realized localization, and the advantages of leading enterprises are particularly obvious
DJI has a solid position in the global civilian drone market, accounting for more than 70% of the global market share. In terms of agricultural drones, the domestic market is highly concentrated, with DJI and XAG Technology accounting for more than 90% of the total share, and Hangzhou Qifei and Wuxi Hanhe also occupy a certain market share.
From the perspective of industry application, industrial UAVs focus on specific subdivisions for in-depth mining, XAG Technology, Hi-Tech Xinnong, etc. mainly focus on the field of agricultural plant protection, Zongheng Co., Ltd. and Aerospace Hongtu have advantages in surveying and mapping, remote sensing and other fields. The market segment presents a pattern of decentralized competition among a few dominant companies and multiple enterprises.
In recent years, in terms of technological innovation, DJI has released its first carrier drone, DJI Flycart30, Fengyi Technology has also launched two new drone products, Fengzhou 90 and Ark 150, and the Institute of Engineering Thermal Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a domestic light supersonic turbojet engine. #低空经济##无人机##航空##科技##财经##新质生产力##飞机#
With the increase of national policies in the field of aviation and low-altitude economy, the UAV industry has a lot to offer and is expected to usher in a broad market space.
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