Growing Prospects for Korean Drone Companies to Enter the U.S. Market

KOTRA and the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology (KIAST) recently announced that they were hosting a Korean Pavilion at the world’s largest unmanned mobility exhibition ‘Xponential 2025’ held in Houston, USA from May 19 to 22, and held export consultation meetings for Korean companies seeking to enter the U.S. market.
KOTRA focused on expanding local partnerships and promoting technology at this event through the Korean pavilion exhibition booths, export consultation meetings, and PR center operation. A total of 11 Korean companies participated, conducted 191 consultations, and signed 15 on-site MOUs, thereby expanding opportunities for cooperation with global drone companies.
Xponential is the world’s largest unmanned mobility exhibition hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), and is held annually in major cities in the United States.

 More than 7,500 persons from 60 countries participated in this year’s event, and it was a venue to share the latest technologies and industry trends such as drones, military unmanned vehicles, and autonomous driving systems. In addition to booth exhibitions, Xponential provided opportunities for cooperation and information exchanges among industries through various programs such as technology conferences and panel discussions.
The drone industry market size in the United States is worth approximately $12.1 billion as of 2024, and is expected to grow by an average of 9.2% annually to $17.2 billion by 2028 due to recent increases in demand. The U.S. government plans to invest more than $4 billion in research and development (R&D) and demonstration projects in the unmanned mobility field, including drones, and is also preparing regulations and policies to strengthen national security.

In particular, the U.S. Congress has recently been proposing bills (the Security Drone Act and the China Drone Response Act) to restrict the import of Chinese drones for reasons of national security. Accordingly, the proportion of Chinese imports, which reached 85% in 2023, has decreased to less than 30% as of the first quarter of 2025.
Amid these changes, imports from third countries such as Vietnam and Switzerland are increasing, and it is expected that Korea’s drone companies will now have more opportunities to enter the U.S. market.

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