IAF Dronathon 2026: IAF’s mega drone event kicks off at Pokharan range in Rajasthan

New Delhi: An event hosted by the Indian Air Force, which seeks to offer domestic manufacturers an opportunity to exhibit their capabilities and advancements in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS, kicked off at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer on Monday.

The three-day event– ‘Dronathon 2026– is designed to help stakeholders to witness emerging drone and counter-drone technologies along with their operations demonstration, officials said.

“In line with the national objective of Atmanirbhar Bharat and with a focus on enhancing the IAF’s capabilities in the unmanned domain, ‘Dronathon 2026’ was inaugurated by the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, at Jaisalmer today,” a senior official said.

It follows an industry outreach programme undertaken by the IAF to identify and engage Indian industry and technology developers in the unmanned domain.

The focus areas include UAS and counter-UAS, the official added.

Participating companies are undertaking live demonstrations of their systems at the Pokhran range, Jaisalmer, during the event. These demonstrations are aimed at assessing available technologies against identified operational requirements in the unmanned domain.

The systems and technologies being demonstrated include, expendable Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems; loitering munitions; UAS with electronic warfare capabilities; logistics and delivery drones; mapping and surveying systems; counter-drone systems; and technologies incorporating artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous navigation, real-time data transmission and advanced payloads, the officials said.The demonstrations cover applications related to defence and border surveillance, disaster management, infrastructure inspection and other identified civilian applications.

Dronathon 2026 provides an interface between the IAF and industry for understanding available technologies and their applicability to operational requirements, the officials said.

The initiative is intended to facilitate interaction with developers and support identification of indigenous and scalable solutions in the unmanned domain.

The event also includes participation by students and local youth, who are being provided an opportunity to view live and static displays of unmanned systems and related technologies.

Dronathon 2026 is part of the IAF’s continuing engagement with Indian industry towards development and induction of indigenous unmanned capabilities in accordance with evolving operational requirements, the officials said.