How do drone sector leaders view the state of their industry? What are the greatest benefits of using uncrewed systems? What stands in the way of increased adoption of UAV technology?

These and many other questions are addressed in the Global State of Drones 2025 report from Drone Industry Insights (DII). Subtitled “New Trends and Perspectives of the Commercial Drone Industry Based on a Direct Surveying of Global Drone Companies,” the publication presents results from DII’s annual survey of hundreds of drone industry professionals from around the world.

This year, 768 individuals representing 87 different countries took part in the survey. Nearly half of the respondents were from Europe, but industry leaders from North America (19 percent) and Asia (18 percent) were strongly represented. Most companies responding to the survey were from the service sector (68 percent), followed by hardware companies (24 percent) and software companies (8 percent).

Here's look at some of the survey findings:

Top uses of uncrewed systems

#1  Mapping and Surveying (35 percent)

#2  Inspections (26 percent) 

#3  Photography and Filming (18 percent) 

#4  Delivery (7 percent) / Spraying and Dispensing (7 percent)

#5  Localization and Tracking (5 percent)

Top reasons for using drones

#1 Saving Time

#2 Improving Quality

#3 Improving Work Safety

#4 Reducing Costs 

Biggest challenges facing the drone industry

#1  Regulatory obstacles (e.g., certification process, unable to fly BVLOS, at night, etc.)

#2  Client acquisition (e.g., finding clients, closing contracts),

#3  Acquiring additional funding to scale up (e.g., series investments)

Market expectations

As in past years, DII’s 2025 drone industry survey asked questions aimed at gauging how market expectations match with market realities. This year’s results, according to DII,  showed that “expectations and perceived reality have steadily improved” despite challenges around regulations and funding. Drilling down to individual drone sectors, the report found that development in the drone software industry went up while expectations for the next 12 months also increased. At the opposite end, drone integration/engineering companies experienced a sharp decline in expectations.

Click here for the complete DII Global State of Drones 2025 report.