Public safety drone market to be worth $2 billion by 2028

The industry is projected to be worth US$2 billion by 2028, up from $1.1 billion in 2023. This represents a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 per cent.

The rapid development of the technology has transformed into rapidly growing demand from public safety agencies in recent years, operating across sectors such as law enforcement, firefighting, disaster management, and border or maritime security.

Within this market, ResearchandMarkets.com classifies drones into three sectors – fixed-wing, rotary-wing and hybrid-wing. It forecasts that the fixed-wing sector will grow at a higher CAGR than the others over the period, due to their ability to stay in the air for longer periods of time – making them useful for search and rescue, disaster management, and aerial surveillance purposes. They also fare better in harsh weather conditions and have a greater cargo capacity than their rotor-driven equivalents.

The data also predicts that fully autonomous drones will grow faster than other modes of operation, such as semi-autonomous or manual drones. This is due to reduced operator workloads, improved reliability, scalability, and the ability to operate continuously.

Drones offer the ability for operators to conduct aerial surveillance at a lower cost than would be possible with a crewed aircraft, as well as conduct data gathering and exploration in hazardous locations and terrain. Imperial College London and Empa recently unveiled a prototype drone capable of entering and mapping burning buildings.