Global Unmanned Systems Market Projected to Reach $48 Billion By 2030 Driven by Increasing Demand for Defense & Commercial Ops

MarketNewsUpdates News Commentary

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The growth of the unmanned systems market is driven by the increasing demand for automation in defense, commercial, and industrial sectors. Advancements in artificial intelligence, sensor technology, and real-time data processing are facilitating the development of highly efficient unmanned aerial, ground, and marine systems. Furthermore, rising defense budgets and the need for surveillance, reconnaissance, and border security are contributing to greater adoption in military applications. In the commercial sector, the increasing use of these systems in agriculture, logistics, and infrastructure inspection is broadening the market's reach. Collectively, these factors support a strong outlook for the market in the coming years. A report from Grand View Research said that the global unmanned systems market size was estimated at USD 26.55 billion in 2024and is projected to reach USD 48.31 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 10.5% from 2025 to 2030.  North America unmanned systems industry accounted for the largest global revenue share of over 45% in 2024. The U.S. unmanned systems industry dominated the regional North American market with a share of over 65% in 2024. The report said: “The growing geopolitical tensions and cross-border conflicts are significantly driving demand for unmanned systems in defense applications. Governments are rapidly allocating budgets to develop autonomous aerial, ground, and underwater platforms for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. As traditional combat strategies evolve, unmanned systems offer a low-risk and cost-effective alternative for high-risk missions. Major defense contractors are forming public-private partnerships to accelerate innovation. This increased investment acts as a primary catalyst for the unmanned systems industry’s sustained growth.”   Active Companies in the markets today include Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO), Unusual Machines (NYSE: UMAC), Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD).

Grand View Research continued: “The demand for extended operational range and reduced downtime is leading to innovations in power systems for unmanned platforms. Companies are investing in hybrid propulsion systems, solar integration, and battery optimization technologies. Efficient energy management is critical for long-endurance missions in remote or inaccessible areas. This trend is particularly relevant for drones used in environmental monitoring and disaster response. Advancements in energy solutions are enhancing operational viability and broadening market adoption across the unmanned systems industry. Unmanned systems are increasingly leveraging edge computing to process vast volumes of data in real time without relying on cloud connectivity. This capability is critical in latency-sensitive scenarios such as surveillance, emergency response, and precision agriculture. Edge-enabled platforms can operate autonomously in bandwidth-constrained or denied environments. Integration with 5G networks further amplifies their ability to transmit and act on high-fidelity data streams. Edge computing is emerging as a cornerstone for scaling intelligent operations in the unmanned systems industry.”

Palladyne AI and Draganfly Inc. to Collaborate to Enable Advanced Autonomous Operations and Swarming Capabilities on Draganfly UAV Platforms - Palladyne™ continues expansion of its domestic and international initiatives with Draganfly to collectively bring trusted UAS platforms with advanced capabilities to government, defense, and commercial customers - Palladyne AI Corp. (“Palladyne AI”), a developer of artificial intelligence software for robotic platforms in the defense and commercial sectors, and Draganfly Inc. (NASDAQ: DPRO) (CSE: DPRO) (FSE: 3U8A) (“Draganfly”), an industry-leading developer of drone solutions and systems, today announced their intention to collaborate to further enhance the capabilities of Draganfly’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms with Palladyne^™ Pilot AI software.

Palladyne^™ Pilot is an edge-based, platform-agnostic, intelligent swarming and collaborative AI software designed to transform multiple UAVs into a seamlessly collaborating team, all managed by a single operator who remains "on the loop." By employing sensor fusion from diverse sources, Pilot enables drones to independently and collaboratively track targets while dynamically interfacing with autopilots. This powerful synergy enhances detection, tracking, classification, and identification while also enabling autonomous drone swarm operations, including self-organizing collaboration. Palladyne AI and Draganfly intend to make Palladyne Pilot software available for deployment on Draganfly’s advanced drone systems.

Draganfly’s professional-grade UAV systems and services have been relied upon by government, defense, and commercial organizations worldwide for more than two decades. Draganfly is an integrated manufacturer & solutions provider utilizing a modular approach which allows for mission-specific specialization and heavy-duty applications in a variety of challenging environments. By integrating Palladyne AI’s autonomy software, Draganfly’s platforms will gain expanded mission capabilities such as autonomous swarm operations, real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and enhanced operator efficiency.

“Draganfly has earned its reputation as one of the most trusted names in UAV innovation,” said Ben Wolff, President and CEO, Palladyne AI. “We are honored to collaborate with them to deliver advanced aerial intelligence solutions that meet the operational needs of government, defense, and commercial users in challenging environments.”

“Palladyne AI is enabling drone platforms to incorporate autonomy features that were even recently limited to large and costly systems,” said Cameron Chell, CEO, Draganfly. “By having Palladyne Pilot as an embedded option into our platforms, we continue to expand our modular framework and increase our adaptable, mission-critical autonomy, and swarm capabilities that reduce operator workload and extend the effectiveness of our systems across complex use cases.”

Integration of Palladyne Pilot with Draganfly systems outside the United States is subject to obtaining any necessary government approvals.   Continued… Read this full release and additional news for DPRO by visiting: https://draganfly.com/news/

Other developments in the drone/UAV industries include:

Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American: UMAC), a leading provider of high-performance drone components, recently announced an order from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division for 3,500 NDAA-compliant motors produced at the company's new U.S.-based manufacturing facility. The motors will support the Division's deployment of the new Attritable Battlefield Enabler (A.B.E.) V1.01 drones.

In addition to motors, the order includes U.S.-made, NDAA-compliant, and BLUE UAS-listed components: the Aura Analog Camera, Aura VTX, Brave Flight Controller, and Brave ESC. Together, these components ensure that the drones meet stringent compliance standards.

The Army has also indicated plans to expand procurement, targeting an additional order of 20,000 components, including motors, from Unusual Machines in 2026.

Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ONDS), a leading provider of autonomous aerial and ground robot intelligence through its Ondas Autonomous Systems (OAS) business unit and private wireless solutions through Ondas Networks, recently announced the expansion of its partnership with Rift Dynamics to include Nammo Raufoss AS ("Nammo"), a leading Norway-based global provider of advanced munitions with a strong manufacturing presence in the U.S. Under this agreement, the companies will collaborate on a fully integrated Wåsp drone with munition payloads, to be sold exclusively in the United States by Ondas' American Robotics subsidiary.

The integration of Nammo's warheads with Rift's Wåsp platform delivers a turnkey, NDAA-compliant attritable drone system designed for rapid scale-up and mass deployment. Customers benefit from a single-source solution that combines airframe, munition, and control systems into one package-reducing procurement complexity, improving cost efficiency, and ensuring operational performance in the field.

Red Cat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: RCAT) recently announced a development roadmap with AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) to enable Red Cat’s FANG™ FPV drones to be deployed as a payload from AV’s P550™ all-electric Group 2 eVTOL UAS.

Red Cat is actively working with AV to develop a marsupial configuration that enables the P550 to carry and release FANG from its modular CLIK interface. Leveraging the P550’s Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) architecture, the concept demonstrates how interoperable unmanned systems can work together to deploy a smaller FPV drone from a long-endurance Group 2 platform to extend reach and tactical flexibility within a single mission framework.

“This collaboration reflects how U.S. companies can come together to advance modular, interoperable technologies that strengthen operational capability,” said Jeff Thompson, CEO of Red Cat. “By exploring how FANG can be deployed from the P550, we’re showing what’s possible when small, agile systems are paired with long-endurance platforms to create greater reach, responsiveness, and mission versatility.”

General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) General Dynamics Land Systems and Parry Labs recently announced a strategic teaming agreement to collaborate on advancing digital integration for combat systems. The partnership reflects a shared commitment to delivering modernization solutions that keep pace with evolving Army requirements, including the ability to rapidly maintain, sustain, and integrate new technology across General Dynamics Land Systems platforms.

"Parry Labs is focused on enabling the Army to move at the speed of modern warfare," said John "JD" Parkes, CEO and Founder of Parry Labs. "Through this teaming agreement with General Dynamics Land Systems, we are bringing commercial AI infrastructure and an end-to-end software delivery environment that ensures the Army's leading ground combat systems maintain dominance through continuous software delivery."

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