{"id":12921,"date":"2026-09-14T18:52:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=12921"},"modified":"2026-09-14T18:52:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:52:54","slug":"iaf-dronathon-2026-begins-at-pokhran-to-assess-next-generation-unmanned-technologies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=12921","title":{"rendered":"IAF Dronathon-2026 Begins at Pokhran to Assess Next-Generation Unmanned Technologies."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

IAF Dronathon-2026 Begins at Pokhran to Assess Next-Generation Unmanned Technologies.<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jaisalmer:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday inaugurated the first Indian Air Force Dronathon-2026 at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer, marking a major step towards strengthening India’s capabilities in unmanned aerial systems and advancing self-reliance in defence technology.<\/p>\n

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, inaugurated the three-day event, which is being conducted from September 14 to 16, 2026. The inaugural ceremony was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, and representatives of the Indian Army and Border Security Force.<\/p>\n

Dronathon-2026 is an initiative of the IAF aimed at engaging directly with India’s rapidly growing unmanned systems industry and evaluating emerging technologies under realistic and demanding operational conditions. More than 20 leading defence companies, start-ups, MSMEs, Defence Public Sector Undertakings and innovators from across the country’s unmanned systems ecosystem are participating in the event.<\/p>\n

Focus on operational capabilities<\/p>\n

The IAF considers unmanned systems an important complement to manned aviation, providing military commanders with additional options to enhance the reach, persistence, responsiveness and flexibility of air operations.<\/p>\n

During Dronathon-2026, participating companies and innovators are demonstrating their Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and associated technologies at the Pokhran range. The demonstrations cover a wide range of operational capabilities, including surveillance and reconnaissance, autonomous operations, swarm technologies, electronic warfare and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS).<\/p>\n

A key objective of the event is to move beyond conventional technology demonstrations and assess the actual operational effectiveness of unmanned systems. The participating platforms are being evaluated for their reliability, effectiveness in demanding and contested environments, adaptability to changing operational requirements and ability to respond to emerging threats.<\/p>\n

IAF releases UAS Roadmap<\/h4>\n

On the opening day, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit released the \u2018IAF UAS Roadmap\u2019, providing greater clarity to the Indian defence industry regarding the IAF’s future capability priorities in unmanned aerial systems.<\/p>\n

The roadmap is aimed at facilitating focused innovation and enabling the unmanned systems industry, academia and research organisations to align their technological development and research efforts with the future operational requirements of the Indian Air Force.<\/p>\n

Indigenous \u2018Vayu UTtaM\u2019 demonstrated<\/h4>\n

A major highlight of the opening day was the successful real-time demonstration of \u2018Vayu UTtaM\u2019, an indigenously developed multi-mode Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system of the Indian Air Force.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

During the demonstration at Pokhran, the system successfully detected and tracked both military and civil unmanned aircraft systems. The technology is designed to facilitate coordinated management of UAS operations in increasingly congested airspace while also supporting the identification and timely mitigation of unauthorised or rogue drones.<\/p>\n

With the rapid proliferation of unmanned aerial systems, the capabilities demonstrated by Vayu UTtaM could have applications beyond the military sector, including airspace safety, critical infrastructure protection, civil aviation and public safety.<\/p>\n

Push for Atmanirbharta in unmanned systems<\/h4>\n

Dronathon-2026 further underlines the IAF’s commitment to Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in unmanned systems. The focus of the initiative extends beyond the development of airframes to the creation of a complete indigenous unmanned systems ecosystem.<\/p>\n

This includes critical areas such as propulsion, sensors and payloads, communications, autonomous technologies, electronic warfare, countermeasures and airspace management.<\/p>\n

The event is expected to provide Indian defence manufacturers, start-ups, MSMEs and innovators with an opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities directly to the armed forces and gain a better understanding of future operational requirements.<\/p>\n

Through Dronathon-2026, the Indian Air Force is seeking to bridge the gap between technological innovation and battlefield requirements, while accelerating the development and adoption of indigenous unmanned technologies for India’s future defence needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IAF Dronathon-2026 Begins at Pokhran to Assess Next-Generation Unmanned Technologies.   Jaisalmer:   The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday inaugurated the first Indian Air […]<\/p>\n

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