The OEMs, Drones and VTOL Primer.

A $44B civil drone market

Drone Industry Insights sizes civil drones at $44.4B in 2026; services are the largest segment.

U.S. fleets and pilots are large

FAA counts 453,635 commercial drone registrations (Nov 2025) and nearly 500,000 certificated remote pilots (end-2025).

Beyond-line-of-sight is next

The BVLOS rule, Part 108, has sat at White House review since 10 July 2026. Waivers still gate routine flights.

The supply chain is shifting

On 22 Dec 2025 the FCC added foreign-made drones to its Covered List. Blue UAS and U.S.-made products are exempt to 1 Jan 2028.

Tariffs add cost

Tariffs on imported drones took effect on 3 Sep 2026 and apply even to models already approved.

Air taxis are close, not here

Joby says it is in the final stage of FAA type certification. U.S. passenger service waits on certification.

IoT is everywhere

21.1B connected IoT devices at the end of 2025, up 14%, with 39B forecast by 2030 (IoT Analytics).

Enterprise IoT is a $324B market

Enterprise IoT grew 13% in 2025. Fewer than 1% of connections run AI at the edge today.

Automation is a $200B+ category

Estimates for 2025 run from about $205B to $275B depending on scope: controllers, drives, software, services.

The gap is delivery

Products arrive faster than finished work. Integration, operation and people decide the result.

In pictures

9

Five layers: sense, connect, decide, act, twin

10

One job through five layers: a roof inspection

11

SENSE

Capture the world

CONNECT

Move the data

DECIDE

Turn data into action

ACT

Change the world

TWIN

Remember and simulate

• Cameras, thermal, LiDAR
• Gas and vibration sensors
• GPS, RFID, wearables

• Wi-Fi, 5G, satellite
• LoRaWAN, Ethernet
• OPC UA and MQTT

• Edge and cloud AI
• Flight controllers, PLCs
• Fleet and analytics software

• Drones, valves, motors
• Alerts and work orders
• Doors, lights, locks

• Live model of the site
• Compare today with last week
• Test changes before acting

Remote pilot

Holds the FAA certificate and approves the route

Analyst

Reviews flagged findings and writes the report

Site manager

Signs off repairs and owns the schedule

Six families of non-robot machines

13

Core definitions

14

Rules and standards vocabulary

15

Drones and unmanned vehicles

Multirotor, fixed wing, hybrid VTOL, tethered, docks. Marine ROVs, AUVs and USVs.

VTOL and advanced air mobility

Electric vertical take-off aircraft for passengers and cargo, plus vertiports.

IoT, sensors and smart equipment

Sensors, gateways, networks, trackers, wearables, connected tools.

Automation and control

PLC, SCADA, DCS, MES, machine vision, building and site automation, autonomy kits.

Digital twins and simulation

Live 3D models of sites and assets, linked to real data.

The OEMs behind them

The makers, with funding, proof, price and fit.

The market is already large

17

Rules and supply chains moved fast, 2024 to 2026

18

What still holds adoption back

19

$205B–$275B

Industrial automation market, 2025, by source and scope

16 Mar 2024

Jun 2025

Aug 2025

22 Dec 2025

7 Jan 2026

10 Jul 2026

3 Sep 2026

Remote ID becomes enforceable

Executive order "Unleashing American Drone Dominance"

FAA proposes Part 108 for routine BVLOS

FCC adds foreign-made drones to its Covered List

Blue UAS and qualified U.S.-made products exempted (extended to 1 Jan 2028 in Jul 2026)

Final Part 108 sent to White House review

Tariffs on imported drones take effect

Routine BVLOS

Flights beyond the pilot's sight still run on waivers until Part 108 is final.

Certification

eVTOL aircraft are in FAA type certification. Passenger service waits on it.

Integration

Most products solve one layer. Joining sensors, networks, AI and work systems takes engineering.

Supply and cost

Covered List limits, tariffs and Blue UAS rules change what can be sourced.

Drones

Commercial

Pilot and early

IoT and sensors

Commercial

Automation and control

Commercial

Digital twins

Early commercial

The chain: OEM to client

21

Why OEMs struggle to turn product into finished work

22

How Atomgigs closes the gap

23

ATOMGIGS

Sources from OEMs, integrates, deploys and operates for the client

Site knowledge

Products are proven in the lab. Every site differs in access, airspace, networks and rules.

Integration

Connecting to client work orders, SCADA and records takes engineering the OEM seldom has.

Approvals

Waivers, airspace, safety cases and insurance must be in place before the first flight or run.

Trained people

Pilots, observers and analysts are hard to find and keep for one job at a time.

Support at scale

Spares, repair and uptime are easy for ten units and hard for a thousand.

Proof and references

Buyers want evidence from a site like theirs before they sign.

• Access to real client projects across sectors
• Deployment and operation by a trained site pod
• Field results and feedback for the product team
• Go-to-market advice on positioning and selling

• The right machine from any maker, sourced directly
• No capital outlay for machines and no long-term headcount
• People through contractors, one per role, per job
• One team from survey to operation, paid for capacity and outcomes

Where the line falls

25

The proof scale used in every chapter

26

COMMERCIAL

Sold with references and support. Repeatable across many sites.

EARLY COMMERCIAL

A few references. Works at limited scale or under waivers.

PILOT

Trials with real customers. Not yet repeatable.

CONCEPT

Shown in demos or labs. Not yet in customer hands.

In pictures

29

Nine types at a glance

30

Multirotor: the inspection workhorse

31

Fixed wing and hybrid VTOL for mapping

32

Tethered drones for long watch

33

Drone-in-a-box and docks

34

Photo: a drone dock

35

Heavy-lift and cargo

36

Indoor and confined-space

37

Swarms and light shows

38

Multirotor

Enterprise inspection and mapping

Fixed-wing VTOL

Survey and mapping

Heavy-lift

Cinema, mapping, industrial payloads

Folding drone

Inspection and public safety

Caged drone

Confined spaces such as tanks

Multirotor

Hovers and turns on the spot. Inspection, survey and public safety. 20 to 40 minutes a battery.

Fixed wing

Flies fast and far over corridors and large areas. Needs room to launch and land.

Hybrid VTOL

Lifts off like a helicopter, cruises like a plane. Mapping models fly up to about an hour.

Tethered

Powered by a cable. Hours of steady watch from one point.

Drone-in-a-box

Lives in a dock and flies on a schedule or an alert. No pilot on site.

Heavy-lift

Carries about 15 kg or more: large sensors, tools, cargo.

Indoor and confined space

Cage-protected flyers for tanks, boilers, silos and tunnels.

FPV

First-person-view flyers. Fast and agile. Pilot skill matters most.

Swarm and light show

Hundreds to thousands of small drones flying a choreographed plan.

Best for

Roofs, facades, towers, bridges, solar and public-safety response.

Why it works

Onboard obstacle avoidance lowers the pilot skill needed. Fast to launch.

Watch for

Vendor figures are lab conditions. Wind and cold cut real flight time.

Elistair Orion 2

Up to 50 hours tethered. 100 m tether. 10.5 kg take-off weight. Dual visible and thermal camera. IP54. Set up in under 15 minutes on a 3 kW generator.

Hoverfly Spectre

Power and data through the tether. Listed on the Blue UAS list (Feb 2025). Used for site security and public-safety watch.

Event and crowd safety

A raised view for incident command.

Perimeter and site watch

Yards, plants, data centers, ports.

Communications relay

Lifts a radio or network node.

• A DJI Dock 2 with its lid open and the drone on the pad.
• The dock charges the drone, protects it from weather and sends data over the network.
• One dock covers a site on a schedule or when an alarm trips.

Freefly Alta X Gen2

About 15 kg payload. 40 min empty; 17 min at full load. 34.9 kg take-off weight. From $39,650. Made in the U.S. and NDAA-compliant.

Elroy Air Chaparral

Over 500 lb of cargo and up to 450 miles (company figures). Flew uncrewed cargo flights in Louisiana in Aug 2026.

Large sensors

Cinema cameras and long-range LiDAR.

Tools and parts

Move gear to roofs, towers and remote sites.

Cargo

Medical or industrial supplies on routes without roads.

Where it flies

Boilers, tanks, silos, ducts, tunnels, mine stopes.

What it replaces

Scaffolding, rope access and confined-space entry.

Watch for

Short flights. Thermal resolution is low.

Six sensor families

40

Thermal: seeing heat

41

LiDAR: building 3D from laser pulses

42

Specialist sensors: crops and gas

43

How to read an accuracy claim

44

Match the sensor to the question

45

Photo: a bridge inspection from the air

46

Visible and zoom cameras

Skydio X10 pairs 48 MP tele, 50 MP wide and 64 MP narrow cameras.

Thermal

640 x 512 radiometric modules. Found on most enterprise inspection drones.

LiDAR

Laser scanners that build 3D models. Ouster OS1 joined the Blue UAS framework in Jun 2025.

Multispectral

MicaSense RedEdge-P Dual: 10 bands, 2 cm per pixel at 60 m. Kit $16,990.

Gas and methane

Optical gas imaging sees 20+ gases. Laser sensors give a reading at a point.

Mapping-grade cameras

61 MP and 128 MP survey cameras with PPK positioning for centimeter-level maps.

Electrical

Hot joints, overloaded breakers, failing insulators.

Roofs and envelopes

Wet insulation, air leaks, missing material.

Solar and wind

Faulty cells, hot spots, blade damage.

Search and rescue

People and animals in the dark.

Multispectral: crop and vegetation health

MicaSense RedEdge-P Dual captures 10 color bands plus a sharp panchromatic band. Ground detail of 2 cm per pixel at 60 m. Kit $16,990; upgrade $8,995.

Gas and methane

Optical gas imaging cameras see leaks across 20+ gases. Multi-gas sensors such as Airins Sniffer4D read concentration at a point. Chevron and Percepto flew optical gas imaging in a 2025 pilot.

Aircraft

Claim

Conditions

WingtraOne GEN II

3 cm absolute accuracy

With PPK positioning, 61 MP camera

Trinity Pro with 128 MP camera

0.3 cm horizontal, 0.8 cm vertical (RMS)

Ideal conditions; vendor claim

Ground control

Were surveyed points used on the ground?

Check points

Were independent points held back to test the result?

Report

Is there a written accuracy report for this site?

Standard

Does it follow an agreed standard such as ASPRS?

• The Oregon Department of Transportation inspects a steel truss bridge.
• A snooper truck works under the deck while the drone gives the overview.
• The same flight can carry zoom, thermal or LiDAR sensors.

Five steps of autonomy

48

The open-source flight stack

49

Four layers of software

50

One pilot, several drones

51

Questions to ask a software vendor

52

• 5 Supervised
• One person watches several drones.

• 4 Docked
• The drone launches and lands itself.

• 3 Scripted
• A mission repeats on its own.

• 2 Assisted
• Obstacle avoidance and hover hold.

• 1 Manual
• A pilot flies every second.

Skydio multi-drone waiver

26 Mar 2026: up to four X10 drones per remote pilot, beyond line of sight. 14 agencies, including Las Vegas Metro PD, NYPD, SFPD and New York Power Authority. Flights stay at or below 200 ft or within 50 ft of a structure.

Percepto fleet approval

Reported FAA approval for one operator to run up to 30 drones at once.

Part 108 proposal

Maximum active aircraft per operator would be 25 for survey, 25 for civic interest, 10 for agriculture and 100 for delivery.

Who owns the data?

Raw images, models and logs should stay with the client.

Can I export it?

Open formats such as GeoTIFF, LAS and PDF reports.

What does it connect to?

Work orders, asset systems, GIS, security tools.

Where is it hosted?

Region, retention, and access controls.

How are users tracked?

Logins, roles and an audit trail of every flight.

What happens offline?

Remote sites lose signal. Does the mission still finish?

Links: radio, 5G and satellite

54

Power: batteries and alternatives

55

Dock site checklist

56

Radio

Skydio Connect gives 6 to 12 km in open country and 1 to 2 km in cities, under ideal conditions.

• 5G and cellular
• COMMERCIAL
• Extends range where coverage exists. Skydio's Connect Fusion switches between radio and 5G.

Dock backhaul

The Skydio Dock needs 20 Mbps up (100 recommended) over Cat6, Starlink or 5G.

Power

Mains supply at the pad, with surge protection.

Network

20 Mbps up; wired, Starlink or 5G.

Pad

The dock weighs 232 lb. Level, clear ground or rooftop.

Weather

Operates from −20 to 50 °C; launch and land in winds to 12 m/s.

Airspace

Built-in Remote ID and ADS-B receiver. Waivers for beyond-line-of-sight flights.

Service

Install takes 1 to 3 days plus 2 days of training. A plan covers maintenance and data.

In pictures

58

Ten sectors, one pattern

59

Construction

60

Data centers

61

Mines and quarries

62

Oil and gas

63

Utilities and telecom

64

Rail

65

Ports and airports

66

Agriculture

67

Photo: a spray drone at work

68

Public safety

69

Logistics and delivery

70

• Progress capture and earthwork volumes
• Roof, facade and structure inspection
• Safety walks of high or unsafe areas

Results are vendor-reported and undated. No dollar savings were published.

Commercial

• Perimeter patrol and alarm response
• Roof and cooling-plant inspection
• Construction progress on new halls

intrusions reported since opening at Novva Data Centers (company statement)

Novva in Utah has flown two Nightingale Blackbird security drones since 2021 and planned four. They patrol the perimeter and launch when fence sensors trigger. Novva has not calculated a hard return.

Few named public cases, and the main one dates from about 2022. No hyperscaler has published results.

Early commercial

• Stockpile volume measurement
• Pit and bench survey
• Reserve and compliance checks

Vendor case studies. Major miners have published few comparable results.

Commercial

• Optical gas imaging and flare checks
• Tank, pipe-rack and thermal inspection
• Offshore platform inspection

No dollar figures published. Benefits reported: less personnel exposure and little downtime.

Commercial

• Transmission and distribution line inspection
• Storm damage assessment
• Conductor stringing and tower checks

Utility-reported. Telecom-tower operators have published few results.

Commercial

• Track and right-of-way inspection
• Bridge and tunnel inspection
• Disaster and washout response

1 wk → 2 d

Ohio River bridge inspection time for Watco, by ARE Corp (2020)

BNSF flew its first beyond-line-of-sight mission over 132 miles of track in New Mexico and used drones in Hurricane Harvey. ARE Corp manages about 4,000 short-line bridges.

The published cases date from 2019 and 2020. Large railroads publish little on current programs.

Commercial

• Quay, crane and hull surveys
• Perimeter and environmental patrols
• Airside inspections

U.S. ports and airports have published few measured results.

Early commercial

• Spraying crop-protection products
• Scouting with multispectral cameras
• Field and drainage mapping

Sources differ on fleet size: 5,500 registered spray drones (Farm Bureau) against 15,000+ (ASDC). Chinese-made share of new sales fell from 93.5% to 75.8%.

Commercial

• A DJI Agras T50 demonstrates its sprayers in flight.
• Spray drones treated about 16.4 million U.S. acres in 2025.
• Part 137 rules and sourcing rules shape who can supply them.

• Fly to emergency calls ahead of officers
• Search for people and suspects
• Scene overview and fire support

Privacy and policy governance matter. Minneapolis rejected a Skydio trial (Jul 2026); Portland, Maine approved one (Mar 2026). Response-time claims lack primary sources.

Commercial

• Retail and food parcels
• Medical and lab samples
• Remote and island supply

Amazon's city count is a plan, not a result. Routine beyond-line-of-sight flights still rely on waivers until Part 108 is final.

Commercial

What the hardware costs

72

What drone services cost

73

Measured savings

74

The market, by segment

75

How to judge return

76

General inspection

$300 to $700 per hour

Commercial roof

$300 to $700 per structure

Tower, bridge or utility structure

$800 to $2,000 per structure

Mapping

$300 to $600 per hour, or about $5 to $15 per acre for a 2D orthomosaic

Baseline

What does the current method cost per site per year?

Time saved

Hours of crew, access gear and downtime avoided.

Risk avoided

Falls, confined-space entry, missed faults.

Frequency

More frequent checks catch problems earlier.

Data reuse

Models serve survey, progress and asset records.

Total cost

Aircraft, dock, software, plan, insurance, people.

Part 107 on one page

78

Waivers: the route to advanced flights

79

Remote ID

80

Part 108 and beyond-line-of-sight: status

81

What Part 108 would change

82

Section 2209: critical infrastructure

83

Insurance

84

Europe: the EASA categories

85

• 107.31 Beyond line of sight
• The route used by delivery, docks and linear inspection.

• 107.35 Several aircraft, one pilot
• The route behind one pilot flying up to four drones.

• 107.39 Over people
• Needed unless the aircraft meets a Category 1 to 4 standard.

• 107.29 Night and twilight lighting
• Lighting and visibility variations.

• 107.33 Visual observer
• Relief from observer requirements.

• 107.25 Moving vehicles
• Operating from or over moving vehicles.

Standard Remote ID drone

Broadcasts identity and location built in. Skydio and most new enterprise drones include it.

Broadcast module

An add-on for older drones. The pilot keeps the drone in sight.

FAA-recognized identification area

Fly without broadcasting inside a recognized site, within line of sight.

6 Jun 2025

7 Aug 2025

6 Oct 2025

28 Jan 2026

10 Jul 2026

Nov 2026

Executive order 14307 asks for a final rule in 240 days

NPRM published (Docket FAA-2025-1908)

Comment period closes

Limited reopening to 11 Feb on right-of-way

Final rule sent to White House review (OIRA)

Not yet published; statutory deadline about 7 Dec 2026

Two tiers

Operating permits for lower-risk work. Operating certificates, with a safety management system, for larger programs.

People, not new licenses

No new airman certificates. Each operator names an operations supervisor and flight coordinators.

Bigger aircraft

Up to 1,320 lb take-off weight. Caps by use: 55 lb for delivery, 110 lb for survey, 1,320 lb for agriculture.

Fleet caps

Active aircraft per operator: 100 delivery, 50 demonstration, 25 survey, 25 civic, 10 agriculture.

Yield to crewed traffic

Drones yield to aircraft broadcasting ADS-B Out. Low-altitude rules in 108.195.

Airworthiness by standard

Consensus standards and a Declaration of Compliance from the maker, not type certification.

Standard restrictions

Permanent fixed sites, within property lines, up to 400 ft, up to 290 days a year, renewed every 5 years.

Special restrictions

Sites facing a credible threat. Flights need the permission of the agency that requested it.

Where it stands

NPRM 91 FR 24650, Docket FAA-2026-4558. Comments closed 5 Aug 2026. No final rule yet. The statutory deadline is about Sep 2027.

Four policy levers

87

FCC Covered List

88

A proposed ban on foreign military-grade drones

89

Blue UAS

90

Section 232 tariffs

91

DJI: share and litigation

92

What it means for a buyer

93

Executive orders

EO 14307 puts U.S.-made drones first in federal buying and asks for a BVLOS rule. EO 14305 covers counter-drone and Remote ID access.

FCC Covered List

Foreign-produced drones and critical components can no longer get new FCC authorizations.

Blue UAS

Pentagon-cleared drones, now also an FCC exemption route.

Section 232 tariffs

25% or 100% duties on imported drones and parts, with capped rates for allies.

Categories named

Swarming, defense-article integration, thermal imaging, LiDAR, aerosol or ag-chemical dispensing, docking stations, and drones of 55 lb or more.

Previously authorized equipment

Would be covered, with a proposed 180-day wind-down.

Carve-outs

Blue UAS, Buy American and Conditional Approval items.

Status

More than 3,800 comments, many from farm and LiDAR users. No final decision as of Nov 2026.

What it is

A list of cyber-vetted, NDAA-compliant drones cleared for Defense purchase. Run by DCMA, which took it from DIU. More than 50 platforms in early 2026.

Who is on it

Skydio, Teal (Red Cat), Parrot, Inspired Flight, Freefly, Wingtra, Quantum Systems, Vantage Robotics, AeroVironment, ACSL, ModalAI.

What it means

Clearance is specific to a model and configuration. It is a purchasing tool, not a legal rule for private companies.

Why it matters now

It is also an FCC exemption route and gives a 180-day delay on the Section 232 tariffs.

14 Aug 2026

D.C. Circuit largely upheld DJI's Pentagon listing, but sent one finding back

What the court decided

DJI stays on the 1260H list. The FCC Covered List action was not part of this ruling.

Caution on the numbers

The survey sample is narrow: only 36.1% of respondents fly drones. No audited 2026 market-wide share exists.

Ask for status in writing

Blue UAS, NDAA compliance and FCC authorization date for each model.

Price in the tariffs

25% or 100% on imports, 10 or 15% for allies. Check the 180-day delay.

Watch the pending rules

The FCC proposal on docks, thermal and LiDAR, and Part 108.

Plan a second source

Keep one U.S. or allied alternative for each critical component.

In pictures

95

Three vehicle types

96

ROVs: tethered underwater work

97

Photo: a work-class ROV

98

AUVs and gliders: untethered missions

99

Photo: an underwater glider

100

Surface vessels at sea

101

Named deployments

102

Market and economics

103

Rules at sea

104

Where marine fits client work

105

ROV: remotely operated vehicle

Tethered and flown by a pilot. Work-class models are large with tools. Inspection-class models are smaller with cameras and sonar.

AUV: autonomous underwater vehicle

Untethered and pre-programmed. Used to survey the seabed over long distances.

USV: uncrewed surface vessel

A boat with no crew aboard. Carries sensors, and can launch or recover ROVs and AUVs.

Glider

Moves by changing buoyancy. Very long endurance and slow speed.

• An Oceaneering work-class remotely operated vehicle.
• Two manipulator arms and tools do subsea work on rigs, pipelines and wind farms.
• A pilot flies it through a tether from a control room on the ship or ashore.

• A Teledyne Slocum glider on its cart.
• It moves by changing buoyancy, with small wings for lift.
• Missions last weeks to months, collecting ocean data.

Shell and Ocean Infinity

Five-year global framework for seabed survey. Terms not disclosed.

Woodside Scarborough

• 2018
• Up to six HUGIN 6000 AUVs from one vessel mapped about 6,800 line-km in 19.8 days.

Fugro Blue Essence

First fully remote offshore-wind ROV inspection, near Aberdeen. First USV approved by the UK MCA to run fully remote.

Reach Remote 1

Equinor and Gassco contract to inspect about 3,500 km of pipelines. Remote approval from Norway and the UK.

Sulmara and Saildrone

Ten Voyager USVs for offshore-energy survey, run from centers in Glasgow, San Francisco, St. Petersburg FL and Singapore.

Still to come

Named bridge, dam and port inspections by remote vehicles are still rare in public sources.

IMO MASS Code

Adopted May 2026. Non-mandatory. Applies to cargo ships of 500 GT or more. A mandatory code is forecast for 2030, in force 2032.

U.S. gap

NTSB found no industry standards for uncrewed-vessel detectability or collision avoidance after a 2024 Lake Erie collision. It urged a USCG framework.

NOAA Order 212-19

Governs NOAA-run or NOAA-contracted uncrewed systems. It does not bind independent operators.

Offshore wind

Remote ROV inspection of foundations and cables, from an uncrewed surface vessel.

Subsea pipelines

Long routes inspected by remote vessels, as Reach Remote 1 does for Equinor and Gassco.

Ports and ships

Autonomous hull cleaning and underwater inspection of quays.

Seabed survey

Large AUVs map routes for cables, pipelines and wind farms.

In pictures

108

VTOL beside drones and helicopters

109

Five ways to build a VTOL

110

Named aircraft side by side

111

Trade-offs in plain terms

112

Multicopter

Many small rotors, like a large drone. EHang EH216-S, certified in China: 30 km range, 130 km/h. Volocopter VoloCity: two seats, 18 rotors (concept).

Lift plus cruise

Separate lift rotors and a wing with a pusher. BETA ALIA: five seats, 153 kt top speed. Wisk Gen 6: 12 propellers. Airbus paused CityAirbus NextGen (Jan 2025).

Vectored thrust

Propellers tilt between lift and cruise. Joby S4: pilot and four passengers, up to 200 mph. Archer Midnight: 150 mph cruise. Supernal paused its S-A2 in 2025.

Tilt-wing

Wing and rotors tilt together. Few programs: Dufour Aerospace flies its uncrewed Aero2 cargo drone; crewed designs are on paper.

Hybrid and hydrogen

Longer range, more complexity. Joby's hydrogen demonstrator flew 523 miles in Jul 2024. BETA MV250 hybrid is a concept (Jul 2026).

FAA powered-lift rule: SFAR 120

114

Type certification: who is where

115

The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program

116

Rules outside the U.S.

117

Reality check: no paid passenger service yet

118

Type rating per aircraft

Each powered-lift model needs its own pilot type rating. No new aircraft class was created.

Fewer hours for pilot in command

Required flight time cut from 50 to 35 hours, up to 15 of them in a Level C or higher simulator.

Existing rules extended

Parts 91, 97, 135 and 136 now cover powered-lift, with performance-based options.

Training and records

Part 142 training centers updated. Powered-lift added to the Pilot Records Database.

Ten-year special rule

Published 21 Nov 2024 (89 FR 92296). SFAR 120 runs ten years from 21 Jan 2025.

Cost

The FAA estimates about $914.2M in present-value cost over ten years.

Eight lead sponsors

Port Authority of NY and NJ; Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina DOTs; City of Albuquerque. About two dozen states take part.

Industry partners

BETA in 6 of the 8 projects, Joby in 5, Archer in 3, Electra in 3. Also Wisk, Ampaire, Elroy Air and Reliable Robotics.

First flights

BETA carried organs for United Therapeutics. Joby flew in Texas and in Tampa (29 Oct 2026). Elroy Air flew uncrewed cargo in Louisiana (Aug 2026). Archer flew a piloted Salinas to Monterey round trip (Jul 2026).

Uses covered

Passengers, cargo, emergency medical, flights to energy sites and autonomy.

Dubai

Vertiport certified. Joby needs a GCAA air operator certificate. Fares not published. Joby's Q3 release does not announce a launch.

Abu Dhabi

Archer is on a limited-commercial path with Abu Dhabi Aviation. No launch date given.

United States

Carrying passengers under eIPP needs substantial FAA testing first. Cargo and crew-only flights are flying.

China

EHang is certified and began trial operations in Hefei (Aug 2026). Regular ticketed service has not started.

Passenger leaders

120

Other makers and cargo

121

Proof levels at a glance

122

Fragility and consolidation

123

Expected milestones, 2026 to 2029

124

Maker

Aircraft

Proof

Latest facts

Vertical Aerospace

VX4

Pilot

Piloted transition flights in Apr 2026. Certification now 2029. About $134M cash against about $700M needed

Blade helicopters (Joby), the base that earns revenue today

BETA CX300 (conventional take-off); EHang in China, certified but no paid passengers

Joby S4, Archer Midnight, Wisk Gen 6, Vertical VX4, Elroy Air Chaparral, Pivotal BlackFly

Eve, Volocopter VoloCity, BETA MV250 hybrid, hydrogen demonstrators

Lilium

Ceased its eVTOL business in Feb 2025 after new investment fell through.

Volocopter

Filed for insolvency in Dec 2024. Diamond Aircraft (Wanfeng) bought it in Mar 2025.

Paused programs

Airbus paused CityAirbus NextGen (28 Jan 2025). Supernal, owned by Hyundai, paused in 2025.

Consolidation

Archer agreed to buy Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid from Boeing (Aug 2026). Pending as of Nov 2026.

Thin backlogs

Eve's 2,700 aircraft backlog is about 100 firm orders; the rest are letters of intent.

Cash runway

Vertical has about $134M against about $700M needed to certify.

Late 2026

H1 2027

2027

2H 2027

2028

2029

Eve full transition flight; Vertical design review

Joby FAA pilot training, ahead of TIA flight testing

Volocopter VoloCity certification target; Ras Al Khaimah service target

Eve first crewed flight of a conforming prototype

Eve entry into service; UK passenger rules; SkyDrive target

Vertical VX4 certification target

Six uses beyond the air taxi

126

Revenue and cash today

127

Price and cost: little is public

128

Market forecasts span three orders of magnitude

129

Airport shuttle

Delta invested $60M in Joby for a home-to-airport service. Archer announced Texas networks (23 Oct 2026) and an Italian plan with ITA Airways (29 Oct 2026, conditional).

Cargo and regional

BETA holds 1,040 aircraft in firm orders and options, over $4B. The CX300 takes off conventionally; the Alia 250 is the VTOL.

Medical response

Hyde County, North Carolina EMS flew a paramedic in a Pivotal BlackFly to real calls. Each flight took under 8 minutes. It carries the responder, not the patient.

Offshore and energy sites

Federal pilot projects include flights to energy sites in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. No offshore contract yet.

Disaster response

ERC System and DRF Luftrettung began flight tests of a 2,735 kg hybrid VTOL for hospital transfers and disaster response.

Helicopter bridge

Blade, owned by Joby, carried 44,000+ passengers in Q3 2026 by helicopter. It builds the customer base for later electric flights.

Company

Revenue

Cash

Production

Joby

$55M in Q3, almost all Blade helicopters. 2026 outlook raised to $135M to $140M

$2.2B at 30 Sep 2026; H2 burn guided at $385M to $415M

17 aircraft in production; no annual rate disclosed

Aircraft price

No unit price is published by Joby or Archer. United's order for up to 200 Archer aircraft was valued at $1.5B including options, about $7.5M each by simple division (2022).

Cost per seat-mile

Joby once said $3 was achievable by 2026, on assumptions of 850 aircraft and 7 flight hours a day. A Virginia Tech study found demand at that price would be small.

Cost per flight hour

BETA says its CX300 costs about $450 an hour against $800 to $850 for a Cessna Caravan. It is a company claim, for a conventional-takeoff aircraft.

Fares

Published passenger fares do not yet exist. Figures circulating online for Dubai are not official.

Noise: measured and modeled

131

Photo: an air taxi in a NASA test

132

Safety targets and insurance

133

Pilots and training

134

0.17 sq mi

Joby's modeled area above ambient noise for a Los Angeles route, against 45 sq mi for a helicopter (company model)

Archer

Flight tests show propeller tone dominates in hover and broadband noise in cruise. No dBA figure is published.

The open question

NASA found drone noise more annoying than road noise at the same level, so a decibel number alone does not settle acceptance.

• A Joby Aviation aircraft hovers near NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (Mar 2025).
• A NASA ground sensor node stands in the foreground.
• NASA collects data to support future air taxi flights in cities.

EASA enhanced category

Catastrophic failure objective of one in a billion per flight hour (10⁻⁹), the same as airliners, for urban or commercial service.

EASA basic category

One in a hundred million (10⁻⁸) for aircraft carrying two to six passengers.

Insurance

WTW (Apr 2026): no loss data or premium figures are published. Underwriters lack operating history. Autonomy shifts risk from people to software.

Simulators

CAE delivered the first of two simulators to Joby in Dec 2025. A second full-motion device was due in Q4 2026. Capacity target: up to 250 pilots a year.

Demand estimates

KPMG: 19,000+ pilots by 2030. McKinsey: up to 60,000, which it calls optimistic. Sources disagree on the horizon.

Operators

Bristow, a helicopter operator, offers a ready-to-fly service model for Vertical Aerospace aircraft (Jun 2025).

Vertiports: the first ones

136

Photo: a floating vertiport in Paris

137

Power: the hidden constraint

138

A site readiness checklist

139

Dubai VDX

The first purpose-built commercial eVTOL vertiport, as the regulator describes it. Four stories, about 3,100 m², two takeoff and landing areas, rapid charging, up to 170,000 passengers a year. Developed by Skyports, with three more under way.

U.S. site building

Joby and Atoms will acquire and develop vertiport sites, starting in Florida, New York, Texas and California. No site counts or budgets were given.

Footprint

An aircraft fits in roughly 50 by 50 ft, per NREL. Land is not the limit. Power is.

• The Paris-Austerlitz vertiport, built for the 2024 Olympic period.
• A barge carries the take-off and landing pad on the river.
• The project drew local objections over noise and use of the river.

300 kW to 1 MW

peak fast-charging power for one aircraft

6 to 7x

typical rise in demand at an existing site

Utility capacity

Available load, interconnection queue, demand charges.

Charging and storage

Charger count, batteries, solar, backup.

Structure

Rooftop or pad loading, fire safety, access.

Airspace and approach

Obstacles, flight paths, neighbors, noise.

Operations

Pilots, ground crew, maintenance, safety system.

Permits and insurance

Local approvals, aviation rules, coverage.

In pictures

142

The IoT stack, layer by layer

143

Protocols and standards

144

Which network for which job

145

LoRaWAN gateway

A do-it-yourself gateway. LoRaWAN links many low-power sensors over long range.

MQTT and Sparkplug

MQTT is a lightweight publish-subscribe protocol with a central broker. Sparkplug (Eclipse Foundation) adds topic names and device state on top.

OPC UA

International standard IEC 62541. 427+ domain information models and 1,019 member companies. FX field-level certification has launched.

Matter 1.5

Adds cameras, closures, soil sensors and energy features. Aimed at homes and buildings. No industrial use is claimed.

In pictures

147

The sensor menu

148

Photo: a smart electricity meter

149

Makers and their latest facts

150

Prices seen

151

Hesai lidar sensors

Shown on a trade show display. Lidar measures distance with laser light and is used on vehicles and robots.

• A household smart meter of the kind utilities install by the million.
• It measures power and reports over a network, without a site visit.
• Industrial sites use the same idea for pumps, motors and leaks.

In pictures

153

Security guidance for buyers

154

The FCC squeeze

155

Cellular modules: U.S. and China

156

Quectel cellular modules

On display. Modules connect devices to mobile networks. Chinese makers lead this category.

Iec 62443

Isasecure, Nov 2026

44 suppliers hold 51 certified development-process entries. Rockwell lists 62443 certificates for several controllers.

NIST IR 8259 Rev. 1

Finalized guidance for IoT manufacturers. Covers support, maintenance and end of life.

Secure by Demand

Lists features OT buyers should require: secure by default, strong login, logging, vulnerability handling.

Asset inventory

Record protocol, criticality, maker, model, operating system, addresses and open ports for every device.

NIST SP 800-82 Rev. 3

The U.S. guide to operational technology security. Older, and still the standing reference.

Named deployments

158

Market size as a range

159

Buzzi Unicem (Pennsylvania, Texas)

Waites vibration sensors. Reported 600+ hours of unplanned downtime avoided and about $1M saved. Written by the vendor.

John Deere, Davenport Works

Nokia private 5G. Six radio units can replace about 300 Wi-Fi access points. Outage cycles fell from weeks to hours.

Cargill

50 live private 5G sites, mostly U.S., up from 20 test sites in about six months. No ROI published.

Equinix Frankfurt FR6

AI cooling optimization cut PUE by 9% to about 1.2 and saved about 900 MWh a year. Sensors not described.

In pictures

162

The control stack in one picture

163

Photo: SCADA in a chilled water plant

164

Who makes it

165

From hardware to software-defined

166

Open standards in practice

167

Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500

A PLC runs machines on a factory floor. Siemens leads large PLCs in China and worldwide.

• Operators watch pumps, chillers and valves on SCADA screens.
• PLCs in the plant run the equipment. SCADA supervises and logs.
• Data centers run their cooling plants the same way.

Software controllers

DeltaV IQ runs as a software controller. DeltaV Flex is a subscription. Emerson says it aligns with IEC 62443 security parts (vendor claim).

IEC 61499

Function blocks for distributed control. Schneider's EcoStruxure Automation Expert is a container-based example (vendor, 2020).

Edge controllers

Linux-based devices such as Yokogawa A8 are AI-ready but have no built-in AI, and had no SIL rating at release.

Data-centric PLCs

PLCs are becoming protocol-flexible, driven by edge computing. DCS makers now sell PLC-style products.

OPC UA

1,019 member companies; about 60% Europe, 20% Americas, 20% Asia-Pacific. OPC UA FX controller certification has started, with first devices expected in 2026.

OPAF and O-PAS

ExxonMobil's Baton Rouge plant runs 100+ controllers and 1,000+ I/O points on O-PAS v2.1. Hot cutover was 8 Nov 2024.

First certification

Yokogawa's Open Automation SI Kit is the first product certified to the O-PAS OPC UA profile.

The 2026 launch wave

169

Vendor claims and evidence

170

Siemens

2 to 5 times faster engineering workflows; up to 80% higher quality; 50% more engineering efficiency.

Beckhoff

20 to 30% productivity gain in internal tests and pilots.

Emerson

Diagnosis time falls from hours or days to minutes.

Pattern

AI arrives first as an engineering assistant and an operator adviser, with a human approving.

Autonomy

Honeywell's autonomous claim rests on one proof of concept. One analyst quoted on the Schneider and NVIDIA twin says closed-loop control is a longer-term goal.

What to ask

Ask for the baseline, the sample and the site. Measure it in your own pilot.

What a twin is, and the adoption reality

172

Platforms and their status

173

Deployments and what was measured

174

Twins in the data center

175

What it is

A virtual model of a machine, line, building or site, fed by live data, used to simulate a change before changing the real asset.

Market forecast

USD 21.14B in 2025 to USD 149.81B in 2030, a 47.9% annual growth rate. One analyst forecast.

Adoption check

Of 20 supply-chain executives: none call twins core to facility planning, 40% are not considering them, 10% are expanding beyond pilots. Small sample.

PepsiCo (U.S. plants)

Siemens reports up to 90% of issues found before physical change, 20% more throughput on the first deployment, 10 to 15% lower capex. An independent read (5 Aug 2026) found no measured results published.

Foxconn (Houston)

Thermal simulation up to 150 times faster. About 50% less time to revenue is Foxconn's estimate.

BMW

Planners work across 30+ factories in a virtual environment. A 30% planning saving is a projection.

Amazon Robotics

Robot development time fell from years to months, according to NVIDIA.

Omniverse DSX

Reference designs of about 130 to 150 kW per rack. NVIDIA cites about 20% lower cooling energy and 30% shorter project time from internal and partner studies (vendor).

Nscale SIN01 pilot

Schneider and NVIDIA are piloting a twin at a campus in Portugal designed for up to 1.2 GW. No results published. Closed-loop control is longer term.

Grid to chip

An electrical twin of AI factories on Omniverse, announced with no numbers.

U.S. evidence

A U.S. data center twin with independently measured results is not yet public.

Standards at a glance

177

Safe by design for a pilot

178

Safety case first

Write down hazards, who can be hurt and which standard applies before any machine moves.

Human approval

Keep a person approving actions. The 2026 AI launches from Emerson and others do the same.

Security by default

Separate machine networks from business networks. Use NIST SP 800-82 as the starting reference.

Robot density and installations

180

Workforce and jobs

181

Cost and pilot sizing

182

BLS, 2 Oct 2026

Manufacturing added 9,000 jobs in September 2026 and is up 72,000 since a December 2025 low. Unemployment rate 4.2%.

Job openings

Manufacturing openings were 522,000 in August 2026, up 26% on the year.

Workforce outlook

Up to 3.8 million jobs to fill, 2024 to 2033. About 1.9 million could go unfilled.

AI adoption

More than half of manufacturers are deploying AI. About 80% expect it to be essential to growth by 2030.

Fifty-one makers in six groups

185

Status changes in two years

186

Lilium

Ceased its eVTOL business and filed for insolvency in Feb 2025 after new investment fell through.

Volocopter

Insolvent in Dec 2024. Bought by Wanfeng's Diamond Aircraft in Mar 2025.

Supernal

Paused S-A2 development in Aug 2025. Laid off 296 staff in Feb 2026.

Wisk

Archer announced on 10 Aug 2026 it will buy Wisk, SkyGrid and Insitu from Boeing. Closing expected by end of 2026.

Honeywell

Aerospace spin-off completed on 29 Jun 2026. Automation continues as Honeywell Technologies.

Particle

Digi International bought Particle for $50M cash on 27 Jan 2026.

In pictures

188

Drones and delivery, part 1

189

Drones and delivery, part 2

190

Industrial inspection

191

Skydio

Announced the F10 Lightrunner fixed-wing drone and MegaDock on 24 Sep 2026. Raised $110M at a $4.4B valuation in Apr 2026.

Zipline

Passed 2 million deliveries and raised $600M at a $7.6B valuation (Jan 2026). Expanding to Houston and Phoenix.

Wing (Alphabet)

Walmart reported 1 million drone deliveries by May 2026. The split between Wing and other partners is unclear.

Matternet

Began NHS drone delivery in central London on 24 Apr 2026, linking two hospital campuses with its M2 drone.

BRINC

Raised $125M in Jul 2026 for 911-response drones. Says more than 900 public-safety agencies use its products.

Flock Safety

Unveiled Alpha, a U.S.-built drone-as-first-responder aircraft, on 16 Oct 2025. Speed and range are company claims.

Freefly Systems

Grew from a 25,000 to a 70,000 sq ft facility and says demand roughly doubled (Aug 2025).

Parrot

Makes the ANAFI USA, a folding thermal and zoom drone on the Blue UAS list, used for inspection and public safety.

Wingtra

Launched the WingtraRAY survey drone on 10 Jul 2025. Covers 100 ha in ten minutes. Company says it is on the Blue UAS list.

Quantum Systems

Raised $1.2B at about an $8B valuation (Jul 2026). Makes survey and mapping aircraft and has a defense business.

Volatus Aerospace

Canadian drone maker and operator. Flies inspection, mapping and cargo missions for industry and public agencies.

Draganfly

FY2025 revenue C$7.73M, up 17.8%. Cash C$90.2M at 31 Dec 2025.

ACSL

U.S. subsidiary received an order for 400 SOTEN drones worth USD 3.0M from a distributor (4 Nov 2025).

Percepto

Launched the Axion AI inspection platform on 27 Oct 2026. Works with multi-vendor drones and sensors for grids and industrial sites.

Flyability

Elios 3 inspection drone for confined spaces. Showed an Ouster lidar partnership at INTERGEO 2026 (Sep 2026).

Voliro

Contact-inspection drones. Extended its Series A to $23M (Jun 2025). Says 40+ customers in 17 countries.

Asylon

Robotic security drones and docks. Announced DroneIQ Overwatch with NVIDIA on 23 Mar 2026, rolling out in 2026.

In pictures

193

Leading makers

194

Challengers and restructured makers

195

Joby Aviation

Says it is in the fifth and final stage of FAA type certification. Q3 2026 results on 4 Nov 2026; 17 aircraft in production.

Archer Aviation

Q3 2026: revenue $5.1M, about $1.4B liquidity. FAA certificate for LA demonstration flights; not yet type certificated.

BETA Technologies

Backlog of 1,040 aircraft in firm orders and options. Q3 2026 revenue $17.7M; cash $1.34B. The CX300 leads sales.

Wisk Aero

Second Gen 6 aircraft flew on 4 May 2026. A Boeing subsidiary; Archer plans to acquire it, closing expected by end of 2026.

Eve Air Mobility

Reached its 50th prototype test flight on 9 Apr 2026. Plans six conforming prototypes for certification.

Vertical Aerospace

Completed a two-way piloted transition flight on 14 Apr 2026. Targets certification in 2029.

Supernal (Hyundai)

Paused S-A2 in Aug 2025 and laid off 296 staff in Feb 2026. Signed a development agreement with KAI on 8 May 2026.

Volocopter

Insolvent in Dec 2024 and bought by Wanfeng's Diamond Aircraft in Mar 2025. Targets certification in 2027.

In pictures

197

Surface and underwater leaders

198

Specialists and regional makers

199

Saildrone

Wind- and solar-powered surface vessels for ocean data and seabed mapping. Voyager maps to 300 m depth.

Ocean Infinity

Took delivery of the 14th and final Armada vessel on 15 Dec 2025. Twelve vessels are operating.

Teledyne Marine

Launched the SeaBat D100 deep-water sonar, rated to 3,000 m and on sale (Mar 2026).

Kongsberg Maritime

HUGIN underwater vehicles and sensors. HUGIN AUVs map the deep seabed for energy, cables and research.

Exail

Announced two orders for its long-range surface vessel on 7 Jan 2026, one for a French hydrographic service.

Blue Robotics

Low-cost BlueROV2 and thrusters. Signed a 10-year, 49,000 sq ft lease at AltaSea in Los Angeles (24 Nov 2025).

Oceaneering

Work-class subsea vehicles and services. Ran about 250 ROV systems at end-2025.

Saab Seaeye

Electric underwater vehicles. Delivered its 600th Falcon in Jul 2025. A business unit of Saab.

Kraken Robotics

Q2 2026 revenue C$27.3M, up 4%. Closed the Covelya Group acquisition on 2 Jul 2026.

Ocius

Solar, wind and wave-powered Bluebottle vessels. Won a five-year A$176M Royal Australian Navy contract (Mar 2026).

IoT and sensor makers

201

Automation makers

202

Photo: a PLC rack

203

More names

204

Samsara

Q2 FY2027 revenue $508.4M, up 30%. Annual recurring revenue $2.125B.

Cognex

Q3 2026 record revenue $313M, up 13%. Agreed to buy RealSense; close expected Q4 2026.

Honeywell

Aerospace spin-off completed on 29 Jun 2026. Automation continues as Honeywell Technologies.

Bosch Sensortec

Launched the BMI5 motion sensor platform at CES 2026. Volume production planned for Q3 2026.

SICK

FY2025 sales EUR 1,850M, up 6.5%, with 10,158 employees.

Schneider Electric

Q3 2026 revenue EUR 11,460M, up 16.9% organic. Raised 2026 guidance.

Rockwell Automation

FY2026 sales $8,989M, up 8%. FactoryTalk Conductor announced 21 Oct 2026; availability expected Q1 2027.

Siemens

Digital Industries Q3 FY2026 revenue EUR 4.9B, up 10% comparable. Eigen Engineering Agent generally available 20 Apr 2026.

Emerson

DeltaV v16.LTS with a software controller (Jan 2026). Ovation AI Agents announced 27 Jul 2026.

Beckhoff

2025 revenue EUR 1.24B, up 6%. U.S. subsidiary $133.5M, up 10.1%. TwinCAT CoAgent announced 23 Jun 2026.

Mitsubishi Electric

U.S. unit released Chip-to-Grid reference designs for AI data centers (24 Sep 2026).

Omron

Announced a global collaboration with Comau on semiconductor and precision-manufacturing automation (11 May 2026).

• An Allen-Bradley (Rockwell Automation) controller with its I/O modules.
• Each module wires to sensors, motors and valves on the machine.
• Most automation pilots change logic or data here first.

Makers with defense business

206

How to choose a maker

207

Proof level

Is it commercial, early commercial, pilot or concept? Ask for named customers and dated results.

Compliance

Is it Blue UAS cleared, or does it hold an FCC Conditional Approval? Where are the key parts made? See Chapter 7.

Financial health

How much cash, and how many firm orders? Several well-funded makers have already failed.

Support

Who repairs it in the U.S., and how fast are spare parts? Who owns the maker?

Data and interfaces

Can it use open standards and give you your own data? Where does the data go?

Scale

Chinese makers lead in drone volume, cellular modules and lidar units. Later pages give the numbers and their sources.

Cost

One dock-and-drone comparison shows the Chinese system at about half the U.S. list price. Sources are mixed.

U.S. rules

Since 22 Dec 2025, new foreign-made drones cannot get FCC approval. Tariffs and procurement limits add to that.

A RMB 1.5T low-altitude forecast

China's civil aviation regulator (CAAC) projects about RMB 1.5 trillion for 2025 and over RMB 3.5 trillion by 2035. Forecast.

DJI dominates U.S. skies

96% of U.S. drones seen by Remote ID sensors are DJI (FAA-funded ASSURE study, Mar 2026).

600,000 farm drones

DJI Agriculture says its fleet passed 600,000 units at end-2025. Vendor claim.

780,000 delivery orders

Meituan reports 780,000+ cumulative drone orders and 70 routes at end-2025. Company-sourced.

Certified is not commercial

EHang holds TC, PC and AC for the EH216-S but delivered only 4 units in Q1 2026.

China leads cellular IoT

China holds about 2.9B of 4.7B cellular IoT connections, about 61% (IoT Analytics count).

Lidar at volume

Hesai shipped 1.62M lidar units in 2025 and RoboSense about 912,000 (Laserfair, Mar 2026).

New approvals are closed

FCC added foreign-made drones to the Covered List on 22 Dec 2025. Exemptions run to 1 Jan 2028.

Tariffs bite

Section 232 duties of 100% apply to larger and thermal drones from 3 Sep 2026.

Controls are paused, not gone

China extended the pause on its Oct 2025 rare earth measures to 10 Jan 2027. April 2025 licensing still applies.

Scale in numbers

212

Certification pace

213

What the U.S. can learn

214

EHang EH216-S

Holds type, production and airworthiness certificates; operators hold operating certificates since Mar 2025. Q1 2026 deliveries: 4 units.

AutoFlight CarryAll

Cargo eVTOL with CAAC certificates and one unit delivered on 22 Jul 2025. Indonesian validation 3 Jun 2026. Specs are vendor claims.

Aridge (XPeng)

Under RMB 2M, 7,000 pre-orders (vendor claim), mass production targeted for 2026. Not yet certified.

Scale lowers cost

Fleets in the hundreds of thousands spread development cost. U.S. operators run far smaller fleets.

Certified is not commercial

EHang holds certificates but delivered 4 units in Q1 2026. Certificates alone prove little.

Check the definition

Fleet, order and spray-area counts mix vendor and white-paper sources. Ask how each is counted.

National and local policy

216

Rules inside China

217

What the U.S. can learn

218

• 2024 work report
• POLICY
• The low-altitude economy first entered the government work report. Most provinces have since added it to their agendas.

• 15th Five-Year Plan
• POLICY
• Outline released 12 Mar 2026. It backs embodied intelligence and the AI+ initiative (Aug 2025).

CAAC forecast

About RMB 1.5 trillion for 2025, over RMB 3.5 trillion by 2035. Another consultancy puts 2025 near RMB 1 trillion.

Local targets

Wuhan plans 1,000 drone hangars by 2030. Hangzhou lists the sector among five future industries.

Firms

127,000+ low-altitude firms by Jun 2026 (CCID Consulting, via The Star).

Past plan scorecard

Made in China 2025 met some share targets and missed others, including machine tools and aircraft (Rhodium, May 2025).

Policy can create demand

A national strategy with local targets gives makers a home market to scale in.

Rules and promotion run together

China adds registration and certification while backing growth. Safety rules need not slow scale.

Plans miss too

Made in China 2025 missed many targets. Targets signal intent, not results.

In pictures

220

Featured profiles

221

Drones, eVTOL and marine

222

Sensors, modules and automation

223

DJI

Matrice 4, Matrice 400, Dock 3 and Agras T50/T100. Private, so revenue is not reported. Over 96% of U.S. drones seen by Remote ID (FAA-funded study, Mar 2026).

EHang

EH216-S holds TC, PC and AC. Deliveries: 61 EH216-series plus 5 VT35 in Q4 2025, then 4 in Q1 2026. Q1 2026 revenue RMB 25.7M. VT35 is announced, not certified.

AutoFlight

CarryAll V2000CG cargo eVTOL: CAAC certificates, first delivery Jul 2025, Indonesian validation Jun 2026. Passenger model targeted for 2026 (announced).

Look inside the product

Modules, lidar and motors from Chinese makers appear in many U.S.-branded devices. Ask for a parts list.

Separate proof from promise

The same page often holds a shipped product, a certified one and an announced one. Label each.

Foreign leaders persist

Siemens holds 45.2% of large PLCs in China. High-end niches resist localization.

Farms, delivery and cities

226

Passenger and cargo flights

227

What the U.S. can learn

228

Farming

DJI Agriculture says 600,000+ spray drones are in service in 100+ countries, with 3,500 service centers (vendor claim, 30 Apr 2026).

Delivery

Meituan: 70 routes and 780,000+ orders by end-2025, in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Dubai.

Logistics

SF Express ordered 100 ES1000 cargo aircraft from Yifei Aviation (Mar 2025). Deliveries and flight totals are not published.

Passenger eVTOL

EHang operators report 3,000+ internal trial missions at 40+ sites. Trial commercial operations began in Hefei in Aug 2026.

Cargo eVTOL

AutoFlight CarryAll cleared for Indonesian cargo operations (3 Jun 2026). One unit delivered in China (Jul 2025).

Marine survey

The Qingrong vessel (7.15 m, over 40 knots) was launched 21 Apr 2026 for research and rescue. No fleet count published.

Start where the job is simple

Spraying and parcel runs scaled first. Passenger flights, the hardest job, lag.

Count real operations

Orders, hectares and missions are better evidence than test flights or pre-orders.

Services follow rules

Delivery grew once licenses were issued, for example Meituan's national license in Apr 2025.

Price gaps

230

Batteries, magnets and materials

231

What the U.S. can learn

232

Rare earths

China produced about 69% of rare earth mine output in 2025 (GlobalData) and up to 90% of processing, per Mining Technology.

Drone inputs

Analysts put China near 90% of NdFeB magnets and 99% of drone lithium-ion cells. Lead times at U.S. suppliers run 6+ months.

Batteries

CATL sold 661 GWh in 2025, up 39%, with 39.2% of the global power-battery market.

Export controls

China's Oct 2025 measures were paused on 7 Nov 2025; the pause now runs to 10 Jan 2027. Apr 2025 licensing for seven rare earths remains.

Cost comes from the whole chain

Motors, magnets, cells and boards come from one region. Matching price needs matching supply.

Inputs are the choke point

Rare earth and battery controls are paused, not repealed. Plan for dates, not for assurances.

Price is not total cost

Tariffs, support and replacement parts change the cost of a cheaper system once it is in the U.S.

Five models

234

Volume does not equal revenue

235

What the U.S. can learn

236

Volume at low price

Hesai shipped 1.62M lidar units in 2025 at roughly RMB 1,850 of revenue per unit (derived, not a quoted price).

Platform and developers

Tuya earned $57.9M net profit on $321.8M revenue in FY2025, with 1.8M developers on its platform (vendor).

Fleet and service

DJI Agriculture pairs 600,000+ drones with 3,500 service centers and 7,000+ certified instructors (vendor).

Delivery as a service

Meituan reports cost per order falling 40 to 50% a year (vendor claim).

Export-led growth

Quectel, Hesai and CHC Navigation sell worldwide. Quectel contests a 1260H listing in court.

Own the platform

Tuya profits through developers, not hardware. U.S. firms can build on that pattern.

Sell the service

Fleet support and delivery as a service turn a device into a recurring job.

Watch margins

Volume leaders such as the carriers earn a small share of revenue. Scale alone is not a model.

Market position

238

U.S. maker responses

239

What the U.S. can learn

240

Skydio

$3.5B, five-year SkyForge plan (24 Apr 2026): a factory five times current space, about 2,000 Skydio and 3,000 supplier jobs.

Freefly Systems

Grew from a 25,000 to a 70,000 sq ft U.S. plant and says demand roughly doubled (Aug 2025).

Unusual Machines

Q2 2026 revenue $16.7M, up 687%. Motor line being installed in Florida.

Federal buying

EO 14307 (Jun 2025) puts U.S.-made drones first in federal buying, and agencies must use approved models.

Concentration is a risk

One maker held about 96% of the U.S. fleet. A rule change moved the market in a day.

Capacity takes years

Plants, motors and cells are announced fast and built slowly. Watch output, not announcements.

Plan for mixed fleets

Existing DJI drones keep flying. New buys shift to Blue UAS and U.S.-made models.

Rules timeline

243

Tariffs and procurement

244

Security, data and compliance checklist

245

100%

Applies to drones over 25 kg, thermal-imaging drones, docking stations and listed critical components. Effective 3 Sep 2026.

25%

Applies to drones of 25 kg or less and Annex III components. Annex III takes effect 9 Feb 2027.

10 to 15%

EU, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland 15%; UK 10%. China is not a qualifying country.

180 days

For Blue UAS and FCC Conditional Approval holders as of 2 Sep 2026. Onshoring builds must begin before 20 Jan 2029.

Federal buying

American Security Drone Act: since 22 Dec 2025 agencies, contractors and grantees cannot buy or fly covered drones. Waivers and Blue UAS paths exist.

DJI and the 1260H list

Designated Jan 2025. D.C. Circuit on 14 Aug 2026 affirmed parts, reversed one finding and remanded. DJI stays listed.

Hesai and Quectel

Both on the 1260H list. A D.C. Circuit ruling on 18 Aug 2026 found a due-process fault but did not vacate Hesai's listing.

Data access

CISA and the FBI warn that Chinese law gives its government broad access to company-held data. Their main guidance dates from 2024.

Airspace

EO 14305 sets up a counter-drone task force and gives agencies Remote ID data access.

Certification

No public study compares FAA and CAAC eVTOL certification. Do not assume they are equivalent.

Rules move fast

Five federal actions in eight months changed the market. Build review dates into contracts.

Cover the whole chain

Rules reach products, parts, data and the funder. Check each layer.

Keep options open

A mixed fleet of approved models reduces the cost of the next rule change.

For U.S. buyers

250

For Atomgigs

251

Dates to watch

252

If restrictions hold

New approvals stay limited. Plan for Blue UAS and U.S.-made fleets, higher unit prices and longer lead times. Keep existing fleets in service.

If restrictions ease

Exemptions and approvals widen. Prices could fall. Do not sign long contracts that assume either path.

In both paths

Keep an inventory of models and parts. Check Covered List status each quarter. Prefer open data formats so fleets can be swapped.

Part 107 pilots

255

Part 108 roles

256

eVTOL pilots

257

493,396

Certificated remote pilots at the end of 2025.

628,600

Certificated remote pilots the FAA projects for 2030.

82.96%

Part 107 knowledge test pass rate in 2025, the lowest on record. 73,914 tests taken. Counts tests, not people.

24 months

Pilots take online recurrent training every 24 months to keep current.

Hire for the whole role

Pilot skill is common. Safety, data and maintenance judgment are scarcer.

Plan for new titles

Part 108 may replace the pilot with supervisors and coordinators. Training duties move to the company.

Watch the rule date

Staffing plans depend on a final Part 108 and its 1:1 starting ratio.

Drone and avionics technicians

260

Industrial maintenance and controls

261

The skills gap

262

Maintenance is the base

Machines fail without it. Budget for technicians as you would for pilots.

Use apprenticeships

Trades like millwright already use 3 to 4 year apprenticeships. Drone repair has no equivalent yet.

Certify what you can

ISA certifications show experience. For drones, define in-house standards.

Data and mapping roles

265

Remote operations centers

266

Photo: a delivery drone in flight

267

Public-safety teams

268

Zipline

A remote operations center in Concord, North Carolina holds about a dozen people, mostly remote pilots in command. No ratio is stated (Aug 2024).

Wing

Operations centers run like air traffic control. Flights are automated, and pilots in command oversee multiple flights at once. Ground support staff do hands-on tasks (Dec 2022).

Gap

Matternet and Amazon Prime Air do not publish staffing ratios.

• A Wing delivery drone over Helsinki, Finland.
• Flights run automatically. Pilots in an operations center oversee many at once.
• Ground staff load parcels and swap batteries.

Roles are splitting

Pilot, coordinator, ground support and analyst are becoming separate jobs.

Ask for the ratio

Vendors rarely state pilots per aircraft. Ask for it in writing.

Plan the data job

Someone must own the flight data, reports and follow-up. It is often forgotten.

Multi-drone oversight

271

Rules that set the limit

272

A planning rule of thumb

273

4 drones

One pilot-in-command may operate up to four X10 drones at once, announced 26 Mar 2026.

14 agencies

Fourteen agencies hold multi-drone beyond-line-of-sight waivers, including NYPD, SFPD and Las Vegas Metro PD.

1 per drone

The FAA's expedited drone-first-responder waiver assumes one remote pilot per drone. Multi-drone is reviewed case by case.

Layer 1: the crew

Pilots, technicians and ground support on site. Start at one pilot per aircraft.

Layer 2: the supervisor

One manager owns safety, schedule and reporting for the pod. Takes over when something fails.

Layer 3: remote operations

Analysts and remote pilots watch fleets across sites. Widen the ratio only after waivers and proof.

Ratio is earned

Four drones per pilot took a waiver and a track record. Plan for one to one first.

A manager is not a pilot

The supervisor's job is safety and decisions, not flying.

Ask for the waiver

Ask each maker which approvals its customers hold and for which sites.

Training routes

276

What federal policy says

277

What owners can do

278