The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched the third edition of the Mehar Baba Competition (MBC-3), inviting Indian industry, start-ups, academic institutions and research organisations to develop advanced collaborative drone-based surveillance radars, with registrations set to begin on April 27.
Announced earlier by Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth during Aero India 2025, this year’s competition is themed “Collaborative Drone-Based Surveillance Radars” and seeks proof-of-concept solutions involving swarms of unmanned aerial systems functioning as airborne radars in contested environments. The proposed systems are expected to detect, track and report aerial targets while relaying accurate location data to a centralised monitoring station. Meritorious participants will receive development funding from the IAF, while the top three winners will be awarded prizes.
The competition is part of the IAF’s push to promote indigenous innovation in niche aviation and defence technologies. According to the Air Force, the initiative has helped generate orders worth nearly Rs 2,000 crore for the unmanned systems industry and fostered collaboration among users, industry and academia on critical defence technologies.
The first two editions of the competition focused on swarm drones for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, and swarm drone-based foreign object debris detection on aircraft operating surfaces, drawing strong participation from start-ups, industry and academic institutions.
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