May 25th marked the closing of the three-day 9th World Drone Conference in Shenzhen.

According to information disclosed by the exhibition organizer, this year's exhibition saw a cumulative total of 131,463 professional visitors, including 6,041 foreign visitors from 103 countries and regions. The intended transaction volume reached around 20 billion yuan, showing a significant increase compared to previous years, and also attracted the attention of many industry outsiders.

Public records show that the exhibition focused on high-quality development results of the low-altitude economy, with an exhibition area reaching 66,000 square meters. A total of 825 companies participated, showcasing more than 5,000 types of unmanned system technology equipment, covering the entire industrial chain from upstream to downstream, research and development manufacturing to training services, industry applications to emerging scenarios.

Jincai Yang, president of the Shenzhen UAV Association, stated that China’s consumer drones account for 74% of the global market, while industrial-grade drones occupy 55% of the global market, mastering approximately 200 application scenarios.

Zhong Zhiyi, former vice president of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, emphasized that the low-altitude economy requires the construction of a safe and efficient airspace management system based on digital new infrastructure. The civil aviation system is promoting low-altitude airspace reform through technologies such as 5G and Beidou, breaking down barriers for the implementation of drone logistics and urban air traffic scenarios.

Xiangjiang Wang, deputy general manager of China Telecom Guangdong Branch, shared practices in the Pearl River Delta region. Applications such as 5G-based drone inspections and emergency communication support have been implemented locally, and there will be deeper integrated cooperation in "government-industry-research-academy-application" in the future.

In Chen Xiang's view, author of the Observer Network column and founder of the Think Tank for Drones and Low-altitude Industries, compared with well-known listed drone whole machine enterprises such as DJI, AVIC Drones, Aerospace Rainbow, and UAVCo, their system-level supplier enterprises should receive more support and attention. These enterprises, which make up the "limbs and senses," "organs," and "skin" of drones, are the cornerstone of industry development and are the hidden champions.

Chen Xiang observed from this exhibition that companies providing systems such as propulsion systems and avionics were mainly old faces, while companies producing drones and eVTOL whole machines had many new faces. The latter group showed relatively high homogeneity, reminiscent of the flourishing and competitive scenes of the mobile phone market 20 years ago and the new energy vehicle market 5 years ago. This is largely due to the relative maturity of domestic system-level suppliers in recent years, allowing whole machine manufacturers to relatively easily assemble complete products.

For example, in the avionics field, Chongqing Zixingzhe has developed a silicon gyro (a gyroscope made using silicon photonics technology) through disruptive innovation. It achieves performance close to fiber optic gyros but at a price similar to MEMS gyros (gyroscopes made using micro-electromechanical system technology). This new type of inertial navigation product category has stood out and achieved good usage effects in some leading drones and eVTOLs. Although there are followers domestically, it still maintains a 1-2 year technical advantage.

In the fuel propulsion field, Hangrui Power and Zongshen Aero-engine divide the domestic market for 100-300kw piston engines, almost monopolizing the supply in this segment and becoming the first choice for large fixed-wing drones and whole machines; Lide Power, specializing in small-power piston engines, holds 80% of the market share for medium-sized composite-wing industrial drones with take-off weights ranging from 25 kg to 300 kg. Major clients include top-ranked companies like Zongheng, Yundu, Star Display, United Aircraft, and Ao Shi in last year's provincial emergency system medium-composite drone tenders, as well as customers such as the Third Academy of Aerospace, Tianqing, Zhuoyi, and Xingwangyunda.

Additionally, leading enterprises in fields such as whole machine and parachute deployment systems, electromagnetic protection systems, integrated starter-generator for fuel engines, full aircraft fuel systems, propellers, electro-optical pods, night vision cameras, satellite communication antennas, data link systems, landing gear, vibration reduction systems, AI algorithms, and network security have a clear "leadership" position. However, industries such as lithium batteries, hydrogen power, motor control, flight control systems, fiber optic inertial guidance, cables and connectors, PCB manufacturing (printed circuit boards), composite raw materials and manufacturing, and customized drone platforms have become crowded due to various reasons, resulting in fiercer competition.

He believes that compared to whole machine enterprises, companies developing supporting system products with high technical thresholds such as propulsion and avionics are required to meet higher standards and are core factors determining the performance, cost, and quality of drone whole machines. In the era of national development of the low-altitude economy and steady growth of the industry, aside from a few major whole machine giants like DJI, who will become the "BYD," "Geely," or "Chery" of the drone and eVTOL industries in ten years remains uncertain, but the positions of leading suppliers akin to "CATL" or "Fuyao Glass" are relatively certain.

Therefore, only the rise of the industrial chain can truly empower thousands of industries and enable the low-altitude economy to flourish and develop.

This article is an exclusive piece by the Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509313808087777827/

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