At the 9th Digital China Construction Summit held recently, the Report on China's Low Altitude Economic Development Index (2026) (hereinafter referred to as the Report), which was led by the Institute of Geographic Science and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was officially released. The report shows that by 2025, the total output value of civil unmanned aerial vehicles in China will reach 176.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 20%. The report shows that the systematic design of China's low altitude economic development system, the gradual self-reliance of low altitude equipment technology, and the acceleration of infrastructure construction have promoted the large-scale development of application scenarios. By 2025, the total output value of civil unmanned aerial vehicles in China will reach 176.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 20%. Among them, the total output value of industrial grade unmanned aerial vehicles reached 125.9 billion yuan; The total output value of consumer grade unmanned aerial vehicles reached 50.2 billion yuan. At the same time, the total import and export trade volume of unmanned aerial vehicles in China is about 23.3 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 44%. According to statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, by the end of 2025, 46 low altitude flight service stations have been built and connected to the internet, covering 23 provinces (regions, cities); A total of 3.287 million drones were registered nationwide, a year-on-year increase of 51.0%; By 2025, unmanned aerial vehicles will have accumulated 45.3029 million flight hours, a year-on-year increase of 69.9%. On the basis of continuing the evaluation framework of the previous year, the report further optimizes and improves the evaluation system around the "five forces" dimensions of innovation effectiveness, industrial strength, scene vitality, development potential, and guarantee capability, and constructs a low altitude economic development index evaluation system with "3-level -84 indicators". According to the evaluation results of the report, the development of the national low altitude economy is expected to remain stable and improve in 2025, with a continuous increase in development index and significant growth in scene vitality, innovation effectiveness, and industrial strength; The pattern of the four major tiers remains basically unchanged, with the ranking of 11 provinces, regions, and municipalities in China being elevated, and 3 provinces, regions, and municipalities achieving a leap in the tiers. Among them, Guangdong Province, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Sichuan Province, and Beijing City still remain in the first tier. Compared to 2024, the Report has selected the star provinces and regions with outstanding growth in the low altitude economic development index in 2025, namely Zhejiang Province, Shaanxi Province, Sichuan Province, Guangdong Province, Shandong Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. According to the report, through the deepening of airspace reform, acceleration of infrastructure construction, full chain coordination of low altitude industry, demonstration of tailored scenarios, upgrading of safety guarantee system, and accelerated "going global" of equipment scenarios, the future low altitude economy will aim for large-scale and commercial development. (Looking into the New Era)