This research benchmarks the leading companies in the emerging heavy-lift cargo drone industry based on two criteria: growth and innovation. The companies selected for inclusion have already generated revenue (which makes a small portion of the sector) and have an extensive backlog of orders, a mature prototype, and plans to start manufacturing during the next 2 years.

For the purpose of this analysis, heavy-lift cargo drones are defined as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) capable of lifting payloads of 30 kg or more and are built specifically for military or commercial cargo applications. All platform configurations (multirotor, fixed-wing, single-rotor, and hybrid), flight endurance (long-range and short-range), and power sources (internal combustion engines, hybrid propulsion, and electric propulsion) are included in this analysis.

Frost & Sullivan analyzes numerous companies in an industry. Those selected for further analysis based on their leadership or other distinctions are benchmarked across 10 Growth and Innovation criteria to reveal their position on the Frost Radar™. The publication presents competitive profiles of each company on the Frost Radar™ considering their strengths and the opportunities that best fit those strengths.