BENGALURU: Drone Federation India (DFI) today opened the Bharat Drone Stack Conference 2026 in Bangalore, India’s largest conference on drone components, with more than 80 Indian component exhibitors, about 3,000 delegates and key dignitaries including Lieutenant General Shamsher Singh Virk, AVSM, SM, Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (CD&S), Air Marshal Samir JayasinhaPendse, VM, VSM, Senior Air Staff Officer, Training Command, IAF, and Dr Abhay A. Pashilkar, Director, CSIR‑NAL. The conference also hosts 10 thematic sessions with industry leaders and senior officials from the armed forces, paramilitary forces, DRDO and national labs.
The dignitaries released DFI’s whitepaper, Making the Swadeshi Switch, with 22 policy recommendations, such as Indian content norms for defence and civil drones, targeted support for component makers, and testing and certification of components in India. DFI will take the recommendations to the concerned ministries and agencies, and review progress at the next edition in 2027.
DFI estimates that the Indian drone industry could grow from Rs 5,720 crore in 2025-26 to around Rs 97,300 crore by 2030-31, with the component market targeted at USD 3.08 billion. Some critical parts and materials, such as magnets, cells and chips, are still imported, and China’s export controls on drone parts, rare earth magnets and autopilots since September 2024 show why deeper localisation matters.
Smit Shah, President, Drone Federation India, said: “India has done the first half of the job. More than 160 drone models now hold type certificates, and more than 200 manufacturers are building defence drones of various categories. But a drone is only as Indian as the parts inside it, and any single source for a flight-critical part is a risk, because supply can be cut overnight.”
The conference is part of Bharat Drone Stack, DFI’s initiative for self-reliance in drone components, launched in August 2025. From about 100 suppliers identified at launch, the Bharat Drone Stack Platform now lists 208, including 83 startups. Its Breakdown maps a drone into 11 categories, 62 subsystems, 243 parts and 52 raw materials, showing where India can build next.
Day 1 featured panels on import dependence and policy levers, chaired by Maj Gen Roopesh Mehta, SM, VSM, Additional Director General, Capability Development, Indian Army; on what modern conflict demands of India’s drone industry, with the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, CISF, BSF and SSB; and on a “Trusted Indian Component” mark, with DRDO and DGAQA. It also featured a fireside chat with Major General V.K. Nambiar, YSM, SM, VSM, GOC, Armed Forces Special Operations Division.
On 13 November, the Indian Army will hold an exclusive workshop, Inside AASHVAST, on how its AASHVAST lab screens drones and electronic systems for hidden hardware and firmware vulnerabilities, and how manufacturers can prepare their products for evaluation.
