China's Low-Altitude Economy Seen Surpassing 1 Trillion Yuan in 2026 as RF Chip Suppliers Ramp Up

China's National Development and Reform Commission said the country's low-altitude economy market is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan in 2026 and reach 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. By the end of 2025, China had 3.287 million registered drones, up 51% year on year, and annual flight time topped 45.3 million hours, up nearly 70%, according to Jiemian News. Against that backdrop, Jiemian News said RF front-end chips are becoming a key component for drones and eVTOL aircraft, supporting signal amplification, transmission and reception for HD video links, remote control and real-time data backhaul. The report said multiple companies are entering the field, including OnMicro, which has reportedly introduced switch-type RF front-end chips to leading low-altitude economy customers and begun mass production, and Yiqu Semiconductor, in which Changying Precision holds a stake, which focuses mainly on ground terminals, radar, countermeasure systems and phased-array applications. Jiemian News also said Geespace Technology displayed its GC080X series RF transceiver chips at MWC Shanghai 2026, with support for ultra-wide frequency coverage from 30 MHz to 7.125 GHz. Among the suppliers, Konka Communications said its high-efficiency, high-power drone RF front-end chips completed development in 2024, entered mass delivery in 2025 and continued to ramp in the first half of 2026. The company said the products have been shipped in volume to multiple customers, including leading clients.