The Indian Air Force has launched its first Dronathon 2026 at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer to test advanced unmanned systems under realistic operational conditions. The three-day event will run from September 14 to 16.
More than 20 defence companies, startups, MSMEs, defence public sector undertakings and innovators are participating in the exercise. The systems are being evaluated across areas including surveillance and reconnaissance, autonomous operations, swarm technologies, electronic warfare and counter-unmanned aircraft systems.
The IAF is focusing on moving beyond technology demonstrations to assess the operational effectiveness of unmanned systems in demanding and contested environments. Reliability, adaptability and the ability to counter emerging threats are among the key evaluation areas.
During the event, the IAF also released its UAS Roadmap, outlining future capability priorities and providing greater clarity to Indian industry, academia and research organisations on the Air Force’s requirements.
The IAF also demonstrated Vayu UTtaM, an indigenous multi-mode Unmanned Traffic Management system. The system demonstrated its ability to detect and track military and civilian unmanned aircraft in real time, supporting safer and more coordinated airspace management.
Dronathon 2026 highlights the IAF’s push to strengthen indigenous capabilities across drones, propulsion, sensors, communications, autonomy, electronic warfare, countermeasures and airspace management as unmanned systems become increasingly important to future military operations.
