Space Weather and Low‐Altitude Drone Economy

Abstract Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming integral to the emerging low‐altitude economy, operating primarily below 3,000 m for applications such as logistics, inspection, precision agriculture, and urban air mobility. The safe and reliable operation of UAVs depends critically on communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) systems, which provide command and control, precise positioning, and situational awareness. Although UAV hardware is largely protected from direct radiation hazards by the Earth's atmosphere and magnetosphere, space weather can still indirectly disrupt operations by affecting CNS performance. Solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and ionospheric irregularities can degrade communication links, induce navigation errors, and compromise surveillance reliability, posing risks to flight safety and operational continuity. This commentary highlights these vulnerabilities, reviews mechanisms through which space weather impacts UAV systems, and emphasizes the importance of integrating space weather awareness into UAV traffic management and system design to support a resilient low‐altitude economy.