The Russo-Ukraine war has definitively validated what defence strategists have been arguing for years: unmanned aerial systems have irreversibly changed the character of warfare. India has absorbed this lesson with particular urgency, accelerating its drone procurement programmes while simultaneously building a domestic drone manufacturing ecosystem that could make it a global exporter of military-grade unmanned systems. The Bharat Defence Tech Show has been at the forefront of shaping India's drone strategy through its curated discussions and industry-government dialogues.
India's Drone Rules 2021 and the subsequent Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Drones have created a foundation for rapid industry growth. At BDTS, discussions have moved beyond regulatory frameworks to focus on operational doctrine — how the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force plan to integrate drone swarms, loitering munitions, and multi-domain unmanned systems into their combat formations and operational planning processes.
BDTS has emerged as the preferred showcase platform for India's most innovative drone companies. From quadrotor systems capable of operating in the Himalayan cold to fixed-wing maritime patrol drones with 24-hour endurance, the showcases at BDTS have demonstrated the remarkable maturation of India's commercial drone sector and its increasing defence applicability.
Counter-drone technology has been equally prominent at BDTS. As hostile drones have been used in attacks against Indian military installations, the armed forces' requirement for layered counter-UAS systems — combining detection, tracking, and neutralisation capabilities — has become critical. BDTS has facilitated rapid procurement discussions between counter-drone technology companies and defence buyers, compressing timelines that would otherwise take years through conventional channels.
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