Dronathon 2026 inauguration took place at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, on Monday, opening a three day Indian Air Force showcase of unmanned systems at the Pokhran Range.

The event runs from 14 to 16 September.

Dronathon 2026 inauguration sets the stage for industry

The Vice Chief of the Air Staff inaugurated the event, positioning it as an interface between the Air Force and domestic industry for understanding available technologies and weighing their fit against operational requirements in the unmanned domain. Officials framed the effort as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat push, geared toward identifying indigenous and scalable solutions, and it follows an industry outreach programme the Air Force had earlier undertaken to identify and engage domestic developers in the unmanned domain, a run-up India Defence Wire had covered ahead of the event.

Participating companies are staging live demonstrations through the three days, each assessed against requirements the Air Force has already identified.

Systems on display at Pokhran Range

The event covers a wide sweep of unmanned hardware. Expendable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems feature alongside loitering munitions, UAS fitted with electronic warfare capabilities, logistics and delivery drones, mapping and surveying platforms and dedicated counter-drone systems, the kind of layered detect and neutralise work India Defence Wire has tracked in earlier Air Force exercises such as Rotor Clap III. A number of the entries carry artificial intelligence, autonomous navigation, real time data transmission and advanced payloads, the sort of capability mix the Dronathon 2026 inauguration was built to put on public view.

Live evaluation over paper specifications

Live demonstrations let developers show hardware performing rather than present specifications on paper alone, with each system weighed against operational requirements the service has already mapped out.

Applications span defence and civilian use

The demonstrations tie into defence and border surveillance, disaster management, infrastructure inspection and other civilian applications the Air Force has identified. That range shows the platforms on display are meant to work across sectors, not just within a single operational role, a theme that has also run through India's wider push on domestic drone procurement.

Students and local youth are also taking part, with organisers giving them access to live and static displays of the unmanned systems on show.

Part of a continuing industry engagement

Dronathon 2026 is being positioned by the Air Force as part of its continuing engagement with domestic industry toward developing and inducting indigenous unmanned capabilities in line with evolving operational requirements.