Drone Software Market Report 2025

The drone software market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $13.03 billion in 2024 to $16 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to rise of consumer and commercial drone use, demand for automated flight control systems, growth in aerial photography and videography, expansion of drone applications in agriculture.

The drone software market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $42.51 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.7%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to integration of artificial intelligence in drone software, adoption of advanced navigation and collision avoidance systems, growth in drone delivery and logistics, increased use of drones in public safety and surveillance, emphasis on autonomous and swarm drone technologies. Major trends in the forecast period include development of drone traffic management systems, integration of augmented reality (AR) in drone applications, use of blockchain for secure drone operations, focus on edge computing for real-time drone data processing, shift towards cloud-based drone software solutions.

The increasing adoption of drones for commercial and defense applications is expected to propel the growth of the drone software market going forward. Drones refer to unmanned aircraft used in various commercial and defense sectors such as disaster management, traffic monitoring, border security, surveillance, precision agriculture, and detecting threats in risk-prone areas. The drone software offers advantages such as taking high-quality aerial photographs and video to create a 3D mapping of disaster areas, providing security and surveillance, and easy navigation for defense missions. For instance, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, a US-based transportation agency, in May 2022, 865,505 drones were registered in the US of which 314,689 drones were registered for commercial purposes. Therefore, the increasing adoption of drones for commercial and defense applications is driving the drone software market growth.

The growing adoption of cloud computing is anticipated to drive the expansion of the drone software market in the coming years. Cloud computing refers to the on-demand provision of computing services over the internet, including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics. The rising popularity of cloud computing is attributed to its scalability, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, improved collaboration, and the ability to access resources and applications from any location with an internet connection. Drone software enhances cloud computing by facilitating seamless data collection, processing, and storage, which allows for real-time analytics and decision-making while utilizing the scalability and accessibility of cloud resources. For example, in December 2023, a report from the International Eurostat, a European governmental organization, indicated that the adoption rate of cloud computing services among medium-sized enterprises reached 59% in 2023, up from 53% in 2021. Consequently, the increasing adoption of cloud computing is propelling the growth of the drone software market.

Technological Advancement is the key trend gaining popularity in the drone software market. Major market players are concentrating their efforts on implementing advanced drone software that helps in automating drone flying and picture data transfer and gives survey-grade results. For instance, in March 2022, Asteria Aerospace Ltd., an India-based drone manufacturer and solution provider company, launched a drone operations platform SkyDeck, a cloud-based software platform to deliver a Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution for various purposes. It includes an AI-based analysis of captured aerial data, data processing, and visualization, and drone fleet management.

Major companies operating in the drone software market are focusing on strategic collaboration and partnerships to provide next-generation Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) solutions to strengthen their position. A remotely piloted aircraft, or one that is running or intended to operate autonomously, is referred to as an unmanned aircraft (UA). For instance, in September 2023, Cytta Corporation, a US-based proprietary video streaming products and services company, announced a strategic partnership with Windhover Labs, a US-based software company focused on the drone design and build ecosystem. Through this partnership, Windhover Labs' innovative drones, hardware, and software systems will be combined with Cytta Corp. 's ground-breaking CyttaAir multisource data streaming capabilities to provide next-generation Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) solutions.

In May 2024, Axon Enterprise, a US-based manufacturer of technology and weapons for law enforcement, the military, and civilians, acquired Dedrone for an undisclosed amount. This strategic acquisition aims to integrate Dedrone's advanced detection and mitigation systems with Axon's existing public safety platform, enhancing protection against unauthorized drone threats. Dedrone is a US-based technology company that specializes in detecting and mitigating unauthorized drone activities.

Major companies operating in the drone software market include Drone Volt, Dronedeploy Inc., Altitude Angel, Pix4D SA., Precisionhawk Inc., AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., Skyward Io., Propeller Aerobotics Pty Ltd., Aloft Technologies Inc., Cyberhawk, AirMap Inc., Auterion Ltd., DroneSense Inc., FlytBase Inc., Hivemapper, Matternet Inc., Percepto Ltd., Picterra, Redbird Aviation Pvt Ltd., Robotic Skies Inc., Skycatch Inc., Skydio Inc., Sky-Watch A/S, SlantRange Inc., Swoop Aero Pty Ltd., Unifly nv, Wingtra AG.

Drone software refers to cloud-based software that enables unmanned aerial vehicles to complete tasks, make judgments and carry out activities without the need for human interaction. These help to provide data relating to quantifying vegetation, and greenness and is useful in understanding vegetation density and assessing changes in plant health. The drone software is used as drone deploy to make digital terrain models, gather NDVI data (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), and generate 3D models.

The main types of deployment methods in drone software are onboard drones, and ground-based. The onboard drones are used for search and rescue, traffic monitoring, and weather monitoring. Onboard drones refer to a class of aircraft that is controlled remotely or independently by software-controlled flight plans within the embedded systems. The different types of architecture include open source, and closed source and involve several solutions such as system and application. The several types of platforms include defense and government, commercial, and consumer that are used in control and data capture, image processing, and analytics.

The drone software market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides drone software market statistics, including drone software industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a drone software market share, detailed drone software market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the drone software industry. This drone software market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

North America was the largest region in the drone software market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the drone software market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.

The countries covered in the drone software market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Italy, Canada, Spain.

The drone software market consists of revenues earned by entities by providing 2D and 3D maps models, flight planning, agricultural monitoring, data analysis, real-time photogrammetry, mapping mission-based solutions, indoor positioning systems. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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