Abstract:

Focusing on four core types of low-altitude aircraft—Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, helicopters, and light small fixed-wing aircraft—the study analyzes their current development status and phased characteristics. From the perspectives of technological autonomy, airworthiness certification, market application, and ecosystem collaboration, it proposes a tiered, progressive high-quality development pathway. This aims to provide a reference for building a safe, efficient, integrated, and open low-altitude equipment industrial system. The research indicates that in the short term, the low-altitude equipment industry needs to strengthen technological foundations and expand closed-loop scenario applications, while in the medium-to-long term, it should gradually achieve a systematic transition from cargo transport to passenger transport, and further to intelligent air-ground integrated coordination.

Key words: low-altitude economy, low-altitude aircraft, development path, unmanned aerial vehicle