The Indian Air Force and the Drone Federation of India will co-host ‘Bharat Drone Shakti’ on September 25 and 26 at the lAF’s Hindon airbase (Ghaziabad), where the Indian drone industry will give live aerial demonstrations, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the ministry ‘Bharat Drone Shakti 2023’ will showcase the prowess of the Indian drone industry, hosting over 50 plus live aerial demonstrations with survey drones, agriculture drones, fire suppression drones, tactical surveillance drones, heavy-lift logistics drones, loitering munition systems, drone swarms, and counter-drone solutions and witness participation from more than 75 drone start-ups and corporates.
The event is expected to attract around 5,000 attendees, including representatives from the Central government, state departments, public and private industry, armed forces, paramilitary forces, representatives from friendly countries, academicians and students and drone enthusiasts. Most importantly, ‘Bharat Drone Shakti 2023’ will give a fillip to India’s commitment to becoming a global drone hub by 2030, a defence ministry official added.
The ministry said that drone technology has revolutionised the civil and defence sectors by increasing efficiency, reducing exposure to risk as also by being a capability enhancer.
The use of drones in India is also seeing an increase both in the military, as well as in the civil domain. The IAF uses Remotely Piloted Aircraft extensively for Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations. Its faith in the emerging drone design and development capabilities in India are borne by its initiatives like the Meher Baba Swarm Drone competition that sought to tap this indigenous potential. Further iterations of this competition are currently underway, the defence ministry official added.
To exploit its rich experience in using these unmanned platforms, the IAF is partnering with the Drone Federation of India to co-host the ‘Bharat Drone Shakti 2023’, an IAF official said.
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