By Evelin Kasenõmm, Datel’s head of development.

While Europe leads in regulatory frameworks, Asian countries—particularly China—are rapidly implementing the “low-altitude economy” by integrating millions of drones into everyday logistics, public services, and infrastructure, according to an opinion piece published by Estonian public broadcaster ERR.

Experts note that China’s registered drone fleet grew by 51 percent by late 2025, alongside tighter regulatory and identification controls introduced in 2026.

Rather than competing with Asia on manufacturing scale, Estonia’s best opportunity lies in developing digital services, spatial data solutions, and 3D city models for automated flight management.

To take full advantage of this technology, expert Evelin Kasenõmm suggests that Estonia’s initial strategic move should be establishing two or three permanent drone corridors.

This approach would allow the Baltic nation to leverage its existing digital infrastructure to become a regional leader in safe, automated low-altitude operations.

Read more: ERR.EE