Vietnam Builds “Global Drone Capital,” Boosting PA66 and PEEK

VNA Hanoi - The low-altitude economy is opening up a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars, with drones and air taxis (eVTOL) gradually entering practical applications. However, Vietnamese enterprises are currently mainly still at the service level and have not yet mastered core technologies. In the competition in the low-altitude economy, the position of local Vietnamese companies remains to be seen.

Photo by VNA

The low-altitude economy generally refers to various economic activities conducted in low-altitude airspace, including drone logistics, infrastructure monitoring, precision agriculture, and air taxis.

According to Morgan Stanley, a leading financial services company, the global market size of the low-altitude economy is predicted to reach $9 trillion by 2050. This figure indicates that low-altitude airspace is no longer just an experimental space, but is gradually becoming a new economic frontier.

In Vietnam, the low-altitude economy is still in its infancy, with related activities mainly focusing on agricultural drones, commercial aerial photography, and engineering and infrastructure monitoring.

Vietnamese companies such as AgriDrone, SunDrone, Drone1, and CT Drone have established business models centered around drone operations. However, most enterprises opt to import drones and subsequently provide operational services to clients ranging from small-scale farmers to various large corporations.

In late October 2025, the Vietnam Low-altitude Economy Alliance was officially established, bringing together about 10 technology groups, financial groups, startups, and experts, dedicated to promoting Vietnam to become the "Global Drone Capital."

Zhang Jiaping, Chairman of FPT Group, stated that Vietnam is seizing a “once-in-a-thousand-years” opportunity to deeply participate in this economic sector—not only at the application level but also in R&D, component manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, drone traffic management software, and related supporting infrastructure.

The alliance has set the following goals: to promote the development of thousands of supporting enterprises, create approximately one million high-quality jobs, and generate hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in economic benefits within the next 10 to 15 years.

Vietnam Drone Network CEO Tran Anh Tuan said that with advantages in precision machinery, software, human resources, and artificial intelligence, Vietnam is poised to be more deeply involved in the drone industry chain. Recently, an American company has taken the initiative to make contact and proposed suggestions for advancing the supply chain restructuring.

The alliance also proposed mechanisms such as regulatory sandbox, technical standards, device identification system, and the transfer of flight permit management from military to civilian. Currently, some models such as drone logistics have been proposed to be piloted in Ho Chi Minh City.

The above measures indicate that Vietnam is not just an observer in the low-altitude economy, but is laying the foundation for a long-term strategy.

Appendix: Top 10 Common Plastics Used in Drones

Glass fiber reinforced PA66 body frame, motor arms, landing gear, propellers, motor housing

Glass-fiber reinforced PA6 components for agricultural drone spraying systems, brackets, and small-to-medium structural parts

Flame-retardant PC drone camera hood, equipment transparent cover, battery casing, display panel

PC/ABS Alloy Flight Controller Housing, Gimbal Housing, Onboard Equipment Interior Parts

Modified PP (reinforced/weather-resistant) low-cost housing, battery compartment, mounting platform, and non-load-bearing structural components

POM (Polyoxymethylene) gimbal gears, servo components, precision transmission structures, snap-fit slides and rails

Flame-retardant reinforced PBT connectors, plugs and sockets, circuit board brackets, and sensor housings

PPS high-temperature motor housing, electronic speed controller components, flame-retardant structural parts, electromagnetic interference resistant components

High-temperature nylon PPA motor coil bobbin, automotive connector, high-temperature sensor housing

PEEK (polyether ether ketone) high-end drone load-bearing structures, high-end propellers, and heat-resistant core transmission components