Introduction: Low-Altitude Economy UAVs – A New Economic Engine Activating the "Fifth Space"
With technological iteration and policy relaxation, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), once considered a "niche field", are gradually integrating into the core landscape of the low-altitude economy. The so-called "low-altitude economy" refers to production, service, and consumption activities carried out in low-altitude areas below 3,000 meters. As the most representative equipment carrier in this field, low-altitude economy UAVs have expanded from traditional aerial photography and plant protection scenarios to diversified areas such as logistics distribution, urban inspection, and emergency rescue, becoming a "new driver" for boosting economic growth and improving social operation efficiency.
According to the 2024 White Paper on Low-Altitude Economy Development released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) , the total market scale of China's low-altitude economy exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan in 2024, among which industries related to low-altitude economy UAVs contributed over 35%. It is expected that this proportion will rise to more than 40% in 2025. Behind these figures lies the combined effect of technological breakthroughs, policy support, and market demand, marking that low-altitude economy UAVs have officially entered the "first year of large-scale application".
I. Industry Status: Market Scale and Growth Drivers of Low-Altitude Economy UAVs
1.1 Market Scale: From "Niche Pilot" to "Trillion-Yuan Track"
In recent years, the market for low-altitude economy UAVs has shown an "explosive growth" trend. Data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) shows that by the end of 2024, the number of civil UAVs in China had exceeded 1.5 million, among which low-altitude economy UAVs for commercial operations (such as logistics UAVs and industrial inspection UAVs) accounted for 62% – an increase of 38 percentage points compared with 2020.
"The growth rate of low-altitude economy UAVs in terms of both ownership and operational frequency has exceeded expectations," said Wang Xia, Secretary-General of the General Aviation Branch of the China Air Transport Association, in an interview. "In 2024, the cumulative commercial flight hours of low-altitude economy UAVs in China reached 8.7 million hours, a 51% increase compared with 2023. Among them, logistics distribution and power inspection were the main growth areas, contributing 32% and 28% of the total flight hours respectively."
From a regional perspective, the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions have become the "core application areas" for low-altitude economy UAVs. Taking Shenzhen as an example, in 2024, the output value of industries related to low-altitude economy UAVs in the city exceeded 80 billion yuan, accounting for 18% of the national total. Companies such as SF Express and DJI have deployed UAV logistics pilots and Low-Altitude Traffic Management (UTM) systems here, which have achieved regular operations.
1.2 Growth Drivers: "Three-Wheel Drive" of Technology, Policy, and Demand
The rapid development of low-altitude economy UAVs is supported by three core drivers:
- Technological Breakthroughs: The energy density of lithium batteries has increased from 250 Wh/kg in 2020 to 350 Wh/kg in 2024, extending the endurance of medium-sized logistics UAVs from 1 hour to 2.5 hours. At the same time, the integration of AI visual recognition and Beidou high-precision positioning technology has significantly improved the autonomous obstacle avoidance and precise operation capabilities of low-altitude economy UAVs.
- Policy Support: The 2024 National Low-Altitude Economy Development Plan clearly states that "by 2025, more than 10 national low-altitude economy demonstration zones will be built to promote the large-scale application of low-altitude economy UAVs in logistics, inspection, rescue, and other fields" (Source link: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology). At the local level, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and other regions have introduced "low-altitude flight approval simplification plans", reducing the approval time for commercial UAV flights from 7 working days to 1-2 working days.
- Market Demand: In the post-pandemic era, the demand for "contactless delivery" has accelerated the implementation of logistics UAVs. At the same time, industries such as electric power and oil and gas have seen a surge in demand for "unmanned inspection". According to data from the State Grid (Source link: State Grid Corporation of China), in 2024, the inspection mileage completed by low-altitude economy UAVs exceeded 500,000 kilometers, with efficiency more than three times that of manual inspection.
II. Policy Support: Multiple Countries Strengthening Support for Low-Altitude Economy UAV Development
2.1 China: From "Top-Level Design" to "Implementation Rules"
China's policy support for low-altitude economy UAVs has formed a complete system of "national planning + local pilots + industry standards". In June 2024, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the CAAC jointly issued the Measures for the Safety Operation Management of Low-Altitude Economy UAVs, which for the first time clarified that "micro UAVs (weight < 250g) can fly without approval in suitable areas, and light UAVs (250g-4kg) need to be reported online 1 hour in advance" – greatly lowering the threshold for commercial operations (Source link:Civil Aviation Administration of China ).
"The core of the policy is 'equal emphasis on safety and development'," Zhang Sen, Deputy Director of the Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Department of the CAAC, pointed out at the 2024 China Low-Altitude Economy Forum. "On the one hand, we monitor low-altitude economy UAVs in real time through the UTM system; on the other hand, we simplify the approval process to enable the rapid implementation of technological innovation. For example, the UAV logistics pilot in Shenzhen has realized the full-chain low-altitude delivery 'from airport to community'."
2.2 International: Europe and the US Focus on "Technical Standards and Cross-Regional Coordination"
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched the "Low-Altitude UAS Traffic Management (UAS TM) System" in 2024, allowing low-altitude economy UAVs to conduct commercial operations in urban low-altitude areas. It also established a "UAV operator qualification classification system" and formulated differentiated standards for different scenarios such as logistics and inspection (Source link: Federal Aviation Administration). The European Union, through the "Single European Sky" program, promotes the unification of flight rules for low-altitude economy UAVs among member states, solving the problem of "difficult cross-border flight approval" (Source link: European Commission).
"Compared with China, Europe and the US pay more attention to the unification of technical standards and cross-regional coordination," said Mark Moore, a professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, in an interview. "However, the global consensus on the development of low-altitude economy UAVs is: it is necessary to clarify 'low-altitude usage rights' through policies and establish a safety supervision system to release industrial potential."
III. Application Scenarios: Core Landing Fields of Low-Altitude Economy UAVs
3.1 Agriculture: From "Manual Plant Protection" to "Precision UAV Operations"
Agriculture is one of the earliest landing scenarios for low-altitude economy UAVs, and its application has expanded from "single plant protection" to the entire chain of "sowing, fertilization, and pest monitoring". According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Source link: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China), in 2024, the plant protection area of low-altitude economy UAVs in China exceeded 100 million mu (1 mu ≈ 0.0667 hectares), accounting for 55% of the country's total cultivated land area – an increase of 27 percentage points compared with 2020.
"The efficiency of UAV plant protection is more than 20 times that of manual work, and the utilization rate of pesticides has increased from 30% to 60%," introduced Chen Tao, General Manager of DJI's Agricultural Division. "Our T60 agricultural UAV is equipped with a multispectral camera and an AI recognition system, which can accurately identify crop pests and diseases and realize 'variable fertilization' – helping farmers reduce fertilizer use by 15% per mu and increase income by 10%-15%."
In the Sanjiang Plain in Northeast China, large-scale farms have realized "UAV cluster operations" – a formation of 10 UAVs can complete the plant protection task for 5,000 mu of corn fields in one day, reducing costs by more than 80% compared with traditional manual work.
3.2 Logistics: "Low-Altitude Delivery" Solving the "Last Mile" Problem
Logistics is the fastest-growing scenario for low-altitude economy UAVs. In 2024, the number of UAV logistics delivery orders in China exceeded 120 million, with SF Express and JD.com as the main promoters. SF Express has deployed a "UAV delivery network" in Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and other cities, building a three-level delivery system of "airport - transfer warehouse - community". Medium-sized logistics UAVs can carry 5-10 kg of goods, with an endurance of 2.5 hours and a coverage radius of 50 kilometers.
"In Longhua District, Shenzhen, our UAVs complete more than 2,000 orders of fresh food and medicine delivery every day, with the average delivery time reduced from 1.5 hours to 25 minutes," said Wang Li, Head of the UAV Division of SF Express, in an interview. "Low-altitude economy UAVs solve the 'last 3 kilometers' delivery problem in cities, especially during morning and evening rush hours and in bad weather. During Typhoon Talim in 2024, UAVs in Shenzhen completed more than 300 emergency medicine deliveries, ensuring residents' needs."
3.3 Urban Inspection: "Unmanned Operations" Improving Urban Governance Efficiency
The application of low-altitude economy UAVs in urban inspection covers multiple sub-fields such as electric power, transportation, and environmental protection. According to data from the State Grid (Source link: State Grid Corporation of China ), in 2024, the transmission line inspection mileage completed by low-altitude economy UAVs exceeded 500,000 kilometers, with the accuracy rate of detecting line defects reaching 98% – an increase of 20 percentage points compared with manual inspection, while reducing costs by more than 60%.
In terms of traffic management, traffic police departments in many places use low-altitude economy UAVs to carry out "illegal parking capture" and traffic congestion alleviation. Taking Hangzhou as an example, in 2024, the city's traffic police UAVs captured more than 120,000 illegally parked vehicles and alleviated more than 3,000 congested sections, improving the traffic efficiency of urban main roads by 15%.
"The core advantages of UAV inspection are 'wide perspective, high efficiency, and strong safety'," said Li Peng, Director of the UAV Application Research Institute of the China Electric Power Research Institute. "Previously, it took 3 days for manual inspection to check a 50-kilometer transmission line, but now UAVs only take 2 hours. Moreover, they can enter areas difficult for humans to reach, such as mountainous areas and rivers, greatly reducing the safety risks for inspectors."
3.4 Emergency Rescue: "Low-Altitude Pioneers" Safeguarding Lives and Property
In the field of emergency rescue, low-altitude economy UAVs have become key equipment for "rapid response and precise rescue". In 2024, China's emergency management departments deployed more than 2,000 sorties of low-altitude economy UAVs to participate in disaster rescues such as earthquakes, floods, and forest fires, rescuing more than 300 people and reducing property losses by more than 1 billion yuan (Source link: Ministry of Emergency Management).
"During the Jishishan earthquake in Gansu in 2024, our UAVs took off 15 minutes after the earthquake. Through thermal imaging cameras, they found 12 trapped people and transmitted their location information to the rescue team in real time, buying precious time for the rescue," introduced Zhao Hui, Captain of the Aviation Rescue Corps of the Ministry of Emergency Management. "In addition, UAVs can also carry emergency supplies and drop food, medicine, and communication equipment to trapped areas, solving the 'last 1 kilometer' rescue problem."
IV. Behind Opportunities: Challenges and Breakthrough Paths for Low-Altitude Economy UAVs
4.1 Core Challenges: "Three Tests" of Supervision, Technology, and Safety
Despite the rapid development of low-altitude economy UAVs, they still face three core challenges:
- Lagging Regulatory System: With the surge in the number of UAVs, problems such as "low-altitude congestion" and "unauthorized flights interfering with navigation" have become prominent. In 2024, China experienced 12 incidents of UAVs interfering with civil aviation flights, a 50% increase compared with 2023. The main reason is that the Low-Altitude Traffic Management (UTM) system has not yet achieved nationwide networking, and flight rules vary across regions.
- Core Technologies to Be Breakthrough: Currently, the lithium battery endurance of China's low-altitude economy UAVs still cannot meet the needs of long-distance operations (medium-sized UAVs generally have an endurance of 2-3 hours). At the same time, the autonomous obstacle avoidance capability of UAVs still has shortcomings in complex urban environments (such as high-rise buildings and power lines). In 2024, UAV accidents caused by obstacle avoidance failures accounted for 35%.
- Prominent Safety Risks: Safety risks such as "uncontrolled falling" and "data leakage" of UAVs cannot be ignored. In 2024, there were 87 incidents of uncontrolled UAV falls nationwide, among which 12 caused injuries. In addition, some low-altitude data collected by UAVs (such as urban buildings and transportation hubs) has leakage risks, requiring strengthened data security management.
4.2 Breakthrough Paths: "Collaborative Efforts" of Policy, Technology, and Industry
In response to the above challenges, industry experts propose three breakthrough paths:
- Improve the Regulatory System: "We should accelerate the construction of a nationwide unified UTM system to realize the full-chain management of UAVs' 'pre-flight reporting, in-flight monitoring, and post-flight traceability'," suggested Wang Xia. "At the same time, we can learn from Shenzhen's experience, divide 'no-fly zones, restricted flight zones, and suitable flight zones', and establish a 'UAV operator credit scoring system' to punish illegal flights."
- Break Through Core Technologies: "Lithium battery technology is the current key bottleneck. We need to increase R&D investment in solid-state batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, and strive to increase UAV endurance to 4-5 hours by 2027," said Mark Moore. "In addition, we should strengthen the integration of AI and UAVs to improve the autonomous obstacle avoidance and decision-making capabilities of UAVs in complex environments. For example, through 'multi-UAV collaboration' technology, UAVs can achieve 'orderly flight' in congested areas."
- Strengthen Safety Management: "We need to establish a 'full-life-cycle safety management system' for UAVs, implementing safety responsibilities throughout the entire process from production and sales to operation," suggested Li Peng. "At the same time, strengthen the management of UAV data security, clarify standards for data collection, storage, and transmission, and prevent the leakage of sensitive data."
V. The Future is Here: Three Development Trends of Low-Altitude Economy UAVs
5.1 Trend 1: "AI + UAVs" Realizing "Autonomous and Intelligent" Operations
In the future, low-altitude economy UAVs will upgrade from "semi-autonomous" to "fully autonomous", and AI technology will be deeply integrated into flight control, task execution, and other links. For example, UAVs can analyze environmental data (such as weather, terrain, and obstacles) in real time through AI algorithms and independently plan the optimal flight path. In agricultural scenarios, UAVs can identify crop growth status through AI and automatically adjust plant protection plans. In logistics scenarios, UAVs can cooperate with ground robots to realize fully automated operations of "aerial delivery + ground connection".
"It is expected that by 2026, 80% of low-altitude economy UAVs will have full autonomous flight capabilities and can complete complex tasks without human intervention," predicted Chen Tao. "This will significantly reduce operating costs and promote the expansion of UAVs from 'professional applications' to 'mass services'."
5.2 Trend 2: "Hybrid Power + Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL)" Expanding Application Boundaries
To solve the problems of short endurance and limited take-off and landing sites, low-altitude economy UAVs will gradually adopt "hybrid power (fuel + electricity)" and "Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL)" technologies. For example, the endurance of hybrid-powered UAVs can be increased to 5-8 hours, meeting the needs of long-distance logistics and cross-regional inspection. VTOL technology allows UAVs to take off and land in narrow areas such as urban rooftops and rural open spaces without the need for dedicated runways, further expanding application scenarios.
"At present, SF Express has been testing hybrid-powered logistics UAVs with an endurance of up to 6 hours, covering a radius of 100 kilometers, which can be used for 'inter-city logistics distribution' in the future," introduced Wang Li. "VTOL technology will promote the large-scale application of UAVs in urban low-altitude logistics. It is expected that by 2025, cities such as Shenzhen and Hangzhou will build a network of 'UAV VTOL sites' to realize '30-minute inter-city delivery'."
5.3 Trend 3: "Low-Altitude Traffic Management (UTM) System" Achieving "Nationwide Networking"
With the surge in the number of low-altitude economy UAVs, the construction of a nationwide unified UTM system will become a priority. In the future, the UTM system will realize the interconnection of "UAVs, manned aircraft, and low-altitude infrastructure", and solve the problem of "low-altitude congestion" through real-time monitoring and dynamic scheduling. For example, in urban low-altitude areas, the UTM system can allocate "flight routes" and "flight altitudes" for UAVs to avoid collisions between multiple UAVs. At the same time, the UTM system can also coordinate with ground transportation systems to realize the integrated scheduling of "low-altitude logistics + ground transportation".
"It is expected that by 2027, China will build a nationwide unified UTM system, realizing 'one-click reporting and nationwide access' for low-altitude economy UAVs, and completely solving the problem of difficult cross-regional flight approval," said Zhang Sen. "This will lay the foundation for the large-scale application of low-altitude economy UAVs and promote the industry to enter a 'trillion-yuan' development stage."
Conclusion: Low-Altitude Economy UAVs – Reconstructing the Industrial Value of the "Fifth Space"
From agricultural plant protection to logistics distribution, from urban inspection to emergency rescue, low-altitude economy UAVs are using "technological innovation" as a pen to depict the future blueprint of the low-altitude economy. Despite facing challenges in supervision, technology, and safety, driven by policy support, market demand, and technological breakthroughs, low-altitude economy UAVs will surely become the core force to activate the "Fifth Space", inject new momentum into economic growth, and improve new efficiency for social operations.
As Wang Xia said: "Low-altitude economy UAVs are not only a kind of equipment, but also a kind of 'low-altitude productivity'. They will reconstruct the way humans use 'space', promoting human society from 'ground economy' to 'low-altitude economy' and opening a new 'low-altitude era'."
