INDIA'S DRONE SECTOR AT INFLECTION POINT

At Aero India 2025, drones prominently featured in the spotlight, and justifiably so, as these unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are poised to significantly impact various sectors in the near future, including defense, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, surveillance, and entertainment. The rapid advancement of drone technologies was evident at Aero India; however, large-scale deployment remains limited due to several factors, primarily concerning safety and security regulations. R. CHANDRAKANTH reports on the evolution of this platform and their imposing presence at Aero India

- R. CHANDRAKANTH

Away from the roar of the engines of the F-35s, the Su-57s and the Tejas over Bengaluru skies, in the halls of Aero India 2025, drones took Centre-stage and, rightly so, as these unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are going to make their presence felt in the not-so-distant future, deployed for a variety of purposes – defence, health, agriculture, logistics, surveillance, entertainment etc. Drone technologies are fast developing and one got to witness that at Aero India, though large-scale deployment of drones has not happened, due to several factors, primarily to do with safety and security regulations.

Drones have been around for quite some time now, having moved from only defence usage to commercial applications in the last decade. The first-ever commercial drone delivery took place a little over a decade ago in China. Called 'Fast Service', drones were used to deliver medical goods to remote places. Amazon with its 'Prime Air' followed suit, delivering parcels weighing less than five pounds and within a 30-minute range. In 2017, UPS got permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use drones to transport packages, but with a caveat that they should operate only during the daytime. During the pandemic, there was accelerated deployment of drones, yet it has not taken off as anticipated.