Ho Chi Minh City (VNA). The low-altitude economy, built on unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous systems, connectivity infrastructure and data, is opening new growth opportunities for Vietnam. Unlocking its potential requires coordinated efforts to address institutional, technical infrastructure, market and investment efficiency challenges.
Domestic and international experts and businesses discussed these issues at a panel on the low-altitude economy in Ho Chi Minh City on October 26. The panel was part of Open Innovation Day 2026, the opening event of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026.
Bottlenecks need to be addressed
Nguyen Tien Truong, Director of the Institute for Low-Altitude Space Development under the Vietnam Aerospace Association, said Vietnam had significant opportunities to develop the economy because of strong market demand and its broad range of potential applications. These include precision agriculture, urban surveillance and traffic management, search and rescue, disaster response, and border and island monitoring for national defence and security. He said emergency medical deliveries and urban logistics were particularly promising as roads become more congested.
Truong said Vietnam had research capabilities and the potential to develop technological infrastructure, catch up with global advances and gradually master digital infrastructure solutions. The country must also maintain control over data and ensure integration with international standards.
Based on research and field surveys, the institute proposed prioritising four areas: precision agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, medical logistics and digital mapping. Data collection and development would provide the foundation for later applications.
The sector still faces three major bottlenecks: the lack of a unified legal framework for low-altitude airspace management, insufficient battery life for operational requirements, and flight safety over populated areas. Without trial flights, safety data cannot be collected. Yet the lack of such data makes it difficult to establish an appropriate legal framework, creating a risk of delays if testing must wait until regulations are fully developed, Truong said.
Nguyen Hoang Long, deputy director of the innovation division at Viettel High Technology Industries, said the biggest challenge was not necessarily technological capability but market demand and investment efficiency. He said state support was needed at the initial stage to stimulate market development.
Bui Trung Hieu, a member of the management board of SAIGONTEL's SoiHub Open Innovation Centre, agreed. He said the domestic market was not large enough to drive growth of the low-altitude economy. Businesses conducting pilot projects faced uncertainty over future buyers, even if the State helped with initial orders. Hieu said his company was developing domestic demand while joining global supply chains.
Infrastructure and regulatory sandboxes
Experts said controlled testing mechanisms, or sandboxes, and infrastructure development were essential to advancing the sector.
Truong stressed that low-altitude airspace and data were national resources. Over the next one to two years, priority should be given to completing the sandbox mechanism and establishing testing zones. This would provide a practical basis for an appropriate legal framework.
Following Politburo Conclusion No. 99-KL/TW on exploiting, managing and protecting low-altitude airspace for national development in the new context, the institute proposed establishing three testing zones representing different terrains in Dien Bien, Tay Ninh and Da Nang.
Joe Felter, CEO of US-based Pickaxe Technologies, said Vietnam should focus on practical missions rather than hardware alone. He said testing zones should form a network integrating sandbox mechanisms, technical standards, research, testing, training and manufacturing. This would accelerate product development and build manufacturing capabilities.
Long proposed prioritising valuable applications, infrastructure development and measures to stimulate market demand. While UAV manufacturing was increasingly accessible to technologically capable companies, operating an integrated low-altitude economy system safely required large-scale infrastructure, advanced technology and cross-sector coordination.
Luong Pham, global adviser at China's EHang, said Vietnam should initially establish local testing zones to demonstrate the feasibility of technologies, business models and operational approaches. The results of these real-world trials would then serve as a basis for further refining policies at the national level.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
