Small drone market to reach $10 billion by 2020

The global small drone market will reach $10 billion by 2020, according to a forecast by research firm MarketsandMarkets. This reflects a compound annual growth rate of 11.6 percent from 2015.

"This growth can be attributed to the rising need for efficient border surveillance and general ISR functions, along with for commercial applications such as agriculture, logistics operations, monitoring and surveying globally," according to the report.

North America is the largest market, but the highest growth will be seen in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

"The Asia-Pacific market is driven mainly by the increasing investments by China and India for the development of multifunctional small drones in defense as well as commercial applications," the report said.

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