Autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Drone Market Trends

Autonomous Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Drone Market Trends

The demand for autonomous BVLOS drone is driven by industries aiming to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. Sectors including logistics, agriculture, healthcare and energy are adopting BVLOS drone for tasks such as asset inspections, crop monitoring, defibrillators for emergencies and deliveries in remote or inaccessible areas. As drone become more reliable and cost-effective, businesses are using them for routine operations where human involvement is costly or unsafe.
 

For instance, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced a roadmap for expanding beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations, with a goal to establish routine BVLOS flights by 2027. The plan includes a demonstration phase followed by the creation of designated airspace areas for UAS operations alongside other aircraft. This initiative aims to enable drone to perform critical tasks, such as delivering chemotherapy drugs, transporting mail to remote locations, and carrying defibrillators for emergencies, paving the way for expanded use of drone in public safety and healthcare logistics.
 

The rapid growth of drone-as-a-service (DaaS) models is another significant trend, with companies offering drone operations and data analytics as a service. This approach makes BVLOS drone technology more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises that cannot afford large-scale investments. For instance, optiemus unmanned systems (OUS) launched a new range of indigenously designed drone for agriculture and mapping at the 5th Drone International Expo in New Delhi. The company is transitioning to a "drone-as-a-service" model, aiming to train 6,000 pilots and manage a fleet of 5,000 drone by 2025. OUS plans to invest USD 16.7 million in the project and is targeting a service revenue of USD 71.1 million to USD 106.6 million by the end of 2025