Indian Air Force unveils unmanned and autonomous systems roadmap

The Indian Air Force (IAF) held a stakeholder workshop in New Delhi to disseminate its Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Roadmap. Hosted in partnership with the Drone Federation of India (DFI), the event brought together senior officials from the IAF and the Ministry of Defence with over 100 defence industry professionals, startups, and academic institutions.

The roadmap outlines future requirements across 16 platform families categorized into four tiers: Strategic, Operational, Tactical, and Distributed/Attritable. The initiative aims to align industrial development with the IAF’s long-term operational needs, specifically focusing on autonomy, manned-unmanned teaming, and swarm operations.

Air Marshal Premkumar Krishnaswamy, Director General (Weapon Systems), stated that the IAF intends to remain at the forefront of unmanned systems by providing clear requirements to enable the timely induction of critical technologies. Air Vice Marshal Ashish Kumar added that early industry understanding of operational needs is essential for building reliable systems for future air campaigns.