Racing Drone Market Outlook – 2027 

Racing drone is a small custom-built quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with front-faced cameras mounted or inbuilt with high-speed racing motor for drone racing tournaments. A pilot controls this device with remote-control while portraying vision of camera on drone through head-mounted display to control speed and direction of motion of racing drone. 

This device is used in racing tournaments such as drone racing world cups and MultiGP drone racing as it features high speed, high battery voltage, and camera with wide angle and high-resolution video, and better control. These devices are used on a large scale in defense and military as it is available in various sizes and can be used for combat missions to capture picture from top for clear view.  

This cost-effective, rugged solution finds wide range of applications in aerial photography, disaster management, and weather forecasting as it offers a 360-degree view for monitoring field operation and encroachment detection even in hazardous environment. Ongoing innovations to improve the nature of pictures and recordings taken by drones are anticipated to boost the racing drone market share in the future.   

The global racing drone market is segmented on the basis of type, component type, size, application, industry vertical, and region. Based on type, the racing drone market is divided into RTF/RTR, BNF, and ARF. In terms of component type, the market is categorized into FPV goggles, FPV remote controllers, cameras, battery, flight controllers, airframe, motor, processor, and others. On the basis of size, the market is divided into <100 mm, 100 – 200 mm, 200 – 300 mm, and >300 mm. 

In terms of application, the racing drone market is segregated into rotor cross, drag racing, time trail, and others. On the basis of industry vertical, the market is categorized into commercial, aerospace & defense, consumer electronics, healthcare, and others. Geographically, the racing drone market is analyzed across several regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa (LAMEA).

Key players operating in the global racing drone industry include YINYAN Model Tech MFT, Airjugar Technology Co. Ltd., Autel Robotics, Eachine, Hubsan Immersion RC Ltd., Parrot Drones SAS, Rotor X, Skyrocket LLC, UVify Inc., and Yuneec. These companies have adopted several strategies such as product launches, partnerships, collaborations, mergers & acquisitions, and joint ventures to strengthen their foothold in the global racing drone market. 

Top Impacting Factors

Rise in demand for high-speed FPV (First person view) drones in various drone leagues such as Multi GPU, drone racing league, world drone prix as well as for applications such as surveillance, industrial inspection, search, and rescue operations are primary factors that propel the market growth. However, lack of highly skilled pilots to operate racing drones in racing tournaments and complexity to assemble parts of ARF (Almost Ready-to-fly) drones hamper the racing drone market growth.

On the contrary, awareness toward reducing harmful environmental emission from sports vehicles and demand for reducing human intervention in driving in racing tournaments is estimated to propel the racing drone market revenue. Growth in investments toward aerodynamic optimization by leveraging computational fluid dynamics is anticipated to provide new pathways to the racing drones industry.

New Product Launches to Flourish the Market

Key racing drone market players adopt necessary steps to enhance synchronization of aerial intelligence in coordinated mission that will allow users to automatically detect and track a moving object even at extreme distances.

In May 2020, SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd., a leader in aerial imaging technology, launched advanced commercial drone platform, Matrice 300RTK and Zenmuse H20 Series, a hybrid, multi-sensor camera for precise aerial inspection. This product integrates modern aviation features, 6 Directional Sensing and Positioning System with 55min flight time. 

Matrice 300RTK has AES-256 encryption along with IP45 protection rating thus making it suitable for secure data transmission of command in adverse weather conditions (-20 to 500C). This versatile device supports payload capability of 2.7 kg and features primary flight display that merges real-time flight and navigation data into an integrated display thus enabling pilots to visualize nearby obstacles.

In August 2019, The Drone Racing League announced the launch of a new drone named “DRL Racer4” that can speed from 0mph to 90mph in less than a second.

Surge in Use of Automotive and Industrial Applications

Automated drones can be used in oil and gas facilities for security, surveillance, infrastructure inspection as well as in stockpile management and tailing dams in mining industries.

In April 2020, SZ DJI Technology Co. Ltd., Chinese technology company designing and developing flying cameras, launched the Mavic Air 2 Drone is combined with high grade imaging and advanced flight performance. It is the first drone to offer 4K video at 60fps and 120Mbps and can be used to record 4X, 8X slow motion in 1080p at 120fps or 240fps. It is embedded with Quad Bayer ½” sensor and records 12-megapixel photos using deep learning. Mavic Air2 is equipped with geofencing solution to help keep drone from high-risk zones such as busy airports.

Key Benefits of the Stakeholders

• The study gives an analytical overview of racing drone market forecast with current trends and future estimations to determine imminent investment pockets.
• The report analyses information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities along with detailed racing drone market analysis.
• The racing drone market trends are quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2027.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of buyers & suppliers in the market. 
• The report provides a detailed racing drone market analysis based on competitive intensity and how the competition will take shape in coming years. 

Market Scope and Structure Analysis

COVID-19 Scenario Analysis

• Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, drone manufacturers are struggling to meet production schedules as the virus continues to impact worldwide manufacturing units. In March 2020, companies such as DJI and Skydio reported that they are suffering from supply-chain disruption, owing to slowdown in manufacture of component parts. 
• In April 2020, WeRobotics along with Flying Labs reported to have deployed cargo drones to deliver medicines, blood samples in the Amazon Rainforest as well as collected samples from remote places in Nepal. JD Logistics in China deployed drones to deliver medical and commercial cargo in Wuhan and Hubei province in response to COVID-19 pandemic with cutting delivery time by more than half.
• In May 2020, the Ministry of Civil Aviation of India notified that drone operations would be used for surveillance, photography, public announcements and other tasks related to contain COVID-19 virus outbreak.  

Racing Drone Market Key Segments

Questions Answered in the Racing Drone Market Research Report

• Who are the leading market players active in racing drone market?
• What would be the detailed impact of COVID-19 on the racing drone market size?
• How would the current trends influence the market in the next few years?
• What are the driving factors, restraints, and opportunities in the market?
• What are the projections for the future that would help taking further strategic steps?