The Indian Air Force is organising Dronathon-2026, an event designed to showcase domestic drone technologies and counter-drone systems being developed within India. The Ministry of Defence announced this initiative to bring together manufacturers, innovators and start-ups working on unmanned aerial systems. The event will allow stakeholders to see working demonstrations of these technologies and assess their practical use in defence scenarios.
Event Details and Focus Areas
Dronathon-2026 will be held at the Pokhran range in Jaisalmer from 14 to 16 September 2026. The event will feature both static displays of equipment and live operational demonstrations of various drone and counter-drone systems in action.
The technologies on display will concentrate on several key defence applications:
- Surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities
- Autonomous drone operations
- Swarm technologies where multiple drones operate together
- Electronic warfare systems
The event aims to evaluate how well these indigenous solutions perform in combat conditions and identify which technologies meet current defence needs. By bringing together industry players, research institutions and Air Force personnel, the initiative seeks to encourage knowledge sharing and collaborative development of drone technologies within India.
What This Means for You
If you are involved in manufacturing, designing or researching drone or counter-drone systems in India, this event offers a platform to demonstrate your work directly to defence decision-makers and potential customers. For those interested in India’s defence sector, the event reflects the government’s push toward self-reliance in military technology, reducing dependence on imported systems. Defence researchers and students can observe cutting-edge unmanned systems technology being developed domestically and understand the current state of India’s indigenous drone ecosystem.