Business UAV firms push for growth as tethered drone market enters new paradigm

Category: Business

Growing at a massive rate, the overall UAV (OEM+ aftermarket) is projected to reach USD 27.4 billion in 2021. By 2026, it is estimated to reach USD 58.4 billion at a CAGR of 16.4 per cent from 2021 to 2026. CloudCover, a professional consulting and implementation company deployed an Orion 2 tethered drone over the ‘Guns N Roses concert’ on August 13-14, ensuring security of 14,000 fans. Manufactured by Elistair, a French company, the drone flew continuously for six hours, providing the command post with permanent view of the stadium at both entry and exit points. “Elistair’s tethered products offer an incredible capability to the event security staff by providing the endurance for the duration of an event with the aerial perspective of the entire event area,” said Richard Simpson, Cloud Cover Co-Founder, Mission Commander. The capability to execute process-driven technology solutions for unique security challenges through concept development, systems integration, and advisory services is of great importance nowadays. The scope of tethered drones has increased significantly over the last few years, not only in Europe, but elsewhere too. Growing at a massive rate, the overall UAV (OEM+ aftermarket) is projected to reach USD 27.4 billion in 2021. By 2026, it is estimated to reach USD 58.4 billion at a CAGR of 16.4 per cent from 2021 to 2026. Companies like Elistair are innovating to push for enhanced growth as tethered drone market enters new paradigm. Established in 2014, Elistair has come through the ranks as a pioneer in tethered UAVs. The new European regulations have helped with the company unveiling products like Orion 2. Moreover, Elistair had raised €2 million in a series of funding with Starquest Capital and its historic investors to enable the growth of its business. The company was able to rope in leading investment firm Boundary Holding, led by Rajat Khare. The Luxembourg-based investment company intended to unlock the potential of Elistair and play a major role in its expansion plan, taking it to other parts of the world, such as India and China. On the geographic front, the tethered aerial robotic market is mostly spread over America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa at this stage. The importance of foraying into other regions cannot be undermined for this segment, especially in the backdrop of increasing security challenges. It will be interesting to see how the market shapes up in the coming years.