Air Force briefs about 100 drone firms on its Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Roadmap

21 October 2026

The Indian Air Force held an Industry Outreach Programme at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on 21 October 2026 on its long-term needs in unmanned and autonomous systems.
It was chaired by Air Marshal Premkumar K, Director General (Weapon Systems), Air Headquarters; around 100 representatives of drone companies and partners took part.
The event built on the 'IAF Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Roadmap', released during IAF Dronathon 2026 at Pokhran on 14 September 2026; roadmap booklets were given to industry.
The roadmap envisages a layered and networked family of unmanned systems that complement manned platforms.
Indigenous propulsion, autonomous software, resilient navigation and standardised interfaces were named as critical technology areas.