Why in news
- The Indian Air Force inaugurated Dronathon-2026 at Pokhran and released the IAF UAS Roadmap to guide domestic defence innovators.
Key terms
Swarm Drones
Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles operating collaboratively through autonomous algorithms to achieve a single mission objective.
Counter-UAS
Systems designed to detect, track, and neutralize unauthorized or hostile unmanned aerial vehicles.
What is IAF Dronathon-2026?
- A military-industry engagement exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force to evaluate emerging unmanned aerial platforms under operational conditions.
- Focuses on testing domestic prototypes for surveillance, autonomous flight, swarm operations, and electronic warfare.
Key Provisions and Objectives
- Transitioning capabilities from laboratory technology demonstrations into validated operational effects.
- Testing platform resilience and effectiveness in contested environments against Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS).
Strategic Significance
- Accelerates indigenization in military drone technology and aligns MSME R&D with armed forces procurement requirements.
Prelims facts
- Swarm drone technology operates on decentralized networking principles to execute simultaneous tactical tasks.
Mains discussion
- Role of asymmetric unmanned systems in enhancing persistent surveillance and combat capability along contested borders.
Source: PIB English
Same topic · past papers
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