Advancements in Miniaturization, Tech Integration, Automation Set Prime Tiny UAS Segment for Growth

Market Forecast, headquartered in Amsterdam, publicized its completed study on the growing micro, mini, and nano drone market. 

Uncrewed, autonomous and semi-autonomous aircraft have been growing quickly on all fronts, easily outpacing previous generations of technological advancement. A stream of developments in miniaturization and battery improvements have brought a steady stream of smaller, lighter, higher-performance equipment. 

"The shift from ground-based situational awareness to aerial surveillance using flying sensors will become a decisive factor for electronic warfare," said the Forecast's abstract. "The new strategy makes defense agencies acquire many new tools and technologies. Micro and nano UAV technology has taken conventional military intelligence to the next level and has uplifted the face of modern electronic warfare."

Forecast notes that a strong market for very small drones has been growing in the military sphere, aided by the affordability and near disposability of the tiny equipment when compared to much larger, multi-million dollar UAVs. Recent program headway at DARPA has focused on command and control for large, distributed drone swarms using a wide array of COTS products, showing some promise in recent testing when used for reconnaissance and surveillance. The report expects that this trend will continue, that the greatest developments in the near term will arise from the integration of "modern technologies such as next-generation avionics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, real-time operating systems," and more. Monetarily, the defense and security segment for micro drones will come in around $138 million through 2022, with $902 million through 2030. 

FMI: www.marketforecast.org