The Indian Air Force has launched the third edition of the Mehar Baba Competition, known as MBC-3, with the theme “Collaborative Drone-Based Surveillance Radars.”

This initiative is designed to encourage innovation in advanced drone and radar technologies. Registration for the competition will commence on 27 April 2026, and meritorious participants will receive development funding from the Indian Air Force. The top three winners will also be honoured with awards.

The competition was earlier announced during Aero India 2025. Its aim is to develop a proof of concept for a collaborative swarm of Unmanned Aerial Systems functioning as airborne radar.

These systems are expected to detect, track, and report aerial targets in contested environments, providing accurate location data to a centralised monitoring station.

The Indian Air Force has invited Indian industries, start-ups, academic institutions, and research establishments to participate, positioning the competition as part of the next wave of aerospace innovation. Full information is available in the Vision Document on the official website.

This pioneering model has already cultivated a robust ecosystem, generating orders worth approximately ₹2,000 Crores for the unmanned systems industry. The first two editions of the competition were conducted with themes focused on “Swarm Drones for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations” and “Swarm Drone Based Foreign Object Debris Detection on Aircraft Operating Surfaces.”

Both editions received strong responses from industry, start-ups, and academia. MBC has proven to be a frontrunner in bridging the gap between Indian industry, academia, and users by providing a common platform to work on critical defence-related technologies.

Since its launch in 2018, the Mehar Baba Competition has encouraged indigenous development of niche aviation technology. It has consistently inspired academia, start-ups, and industry to develop novel indigenous solutions for tackling real-world aviation challenges.

The competition has become a cornerstone of India’s efforts to foster innovation in aerospace and defence, ensuring that critical technologies are developed within the country.

PIB