Aircraft in the field of low-altitude flight include unmanned aerial vehicles, eVTOLs and other diversified carriers. Among them, UAVs have become a pillar industry of the low-altitude economy with mature technology.
In the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, the mainland has firmly stood in the ranks of the world's top ranks, and the mainland has the world's largest unmanned aerial vehicle market, and the number of unmanned aerial vehicles has exceeded one million. According to the latest data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the number of registered drones in the mainland in 2023 has reached 1.267 million, and the scale of the civil drone industry in 2023 has exceeded 117.43 billion yuan, with a very strong growth momentum.
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According to the "Civil Unmanned Aviation Development Roadmap V1.0 (Solicitation of Comments)", the development of mainland UAVs follows the strategy of carrying goods first and then passengers, and it is expected that by 2027, the market size of civil UAVs in mainland China is expected to exceed 250 billion yuan, of which the proportion of industrial UAVs will continue to rise.
The upstream of the UAV industry chain includes raw material supply and UAV design and development, while the midstream focuses on key links such as motors and propellers, flight control systems, power supply systems, communication systems, and navigation systems, as well as the assembly and production of UAVs, and the downstream is mainly used in civilian and military fields.
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Diagram of the UAV industry chain:
Source: Shenzhen Electronics Association
Overview of the drone industry
A drone is known as an "aerial robot", which is a non-manned aircraft that is managed by a control station and can be controlled remotely or autonomously, so it is also known as a remotely piloted aircraft.
The UAV system is composed of the UAV aircraft platform, the flight control and navigation subsystem, the ground command subsystem, and the mission payload subsystem. As an efficient and safe aircraft, drones excel in tasks such as data collection, aerial photography, geological telemetry, and remote monitoring, and can even surpass humans to complete more accurate tasks.
According to the size and performance, UAVs can be subdivided into five categories: micro, light, small, medium and large, of which continental medium-sized UAVs account for about half of the total.
Compared to manned aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are a better choice for long-stay missions because they are not more restricted.
In addition, UAS has the potential to reduce life-cycle costs due to reduced personnel training costs and the availability of corresponding devices.
From the demand side, civilian consumer drones are relatively mature, and industrial drones will become the main direction of application field expansion in the future.
Consumer-grade drones are equipped with cameras, cameras and other shooting equipment, and are representatives of new consumer electronics and smart hardware. Industrial-grade UAVs are widely used in surveying, mapping and geographic information, inspection, security monitoring, express logistics, agriculture and forestry plant protection and other fields.
Downstream application scenarios of industrial drones:
Source: DJI's official website
The Continental Army UAV has performed well in the global military UAV market and is currently one of the important exporters, with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation leading the development and manufacturing of UAVs in China.
The Rainbow series of UAVs in terms of export volume and price have risen, and their export volume accounts for more than half of the total number of UAVs exported by the mainland, and the Pterodactyl series UAVs account for about 24% of the export proportion. Aerospace Rainbow (the actual controller of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) is a scarce manufacturer in the field of military UAVs, and its Rainbow series UAVs have a wide range of coverage in military applications. In addition, many colleges and universities such as China Southern Airlines and Beihang University provide core support for military UAVs; UAV manufacturers Zongshen Power and Weihai Guangtai also have key layouts; Hongdu Airlines, AVIC Shenfei, AVIC Optoelectronics, etc. have key participation in the layout of the military UAV industry chain.
Rainbow Military UAV:
UAV competition pattern and leading combing
According to the Civil Aviation News of China, the number of civil UAVs and manufacturers in the mainland have exceeded the similar indicators of manned aircraft, and their configurations and uses are becoming more and more diversified, showing the wide application and great potential of the UAV industry.
Since 2016, many manufacturers have laid out the consumer drone market, and the competition has become increasingly fierce. Among them, DJI drones occupy more than 70% of the global consumer drone market and are the absolute leader in the world.
In the field of industrial-grade UAVs, there are more than 1,300 UAV manufacturers in the country. The domestic market structure of industrial drones is highly concentrated, with DJI, XAG Technology and Zongheng accounting for more than 90% of the total. #无人机##军工##低空经济##飞机###航空##财经#
Consumer drone market share:
epilogue
In March 2024, the Application and Issuance of Operational Licenses under Part 92 of the Civil Aviation Regulations of China (Draft for Comments) clarified the application process and evaluation system for drone operation licenses, provided clear guidance for applicants, and is expected to further promote the implementation of drone airworthiness applications.
In addition, at present, in the field of civil UAVs, airspace control and personnel qualification requirements are gradually relaxed, with the acceleration of the outbreak of low-altitude economy, the UAV market is expected to maintain a rapid development trend.
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