Mehar Baba Competition

Why is in news? Hon'ble Raksha Mantri had launched the "MEHAR BABA COMPETITION-II" on 06 April 2022 at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan).

‘Mehar Baba’ swarm drone competition by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for Indian start-ups to develop a swarm drone based system to detect foreign objects on aircraft operating surfaces, also to provide a boost to the growing indigenous drone industry.

Launched in October 2018, the Mehar Baba Swarm Drone challenge by the IAF was aimed at encouraging the development of swarm drones for the utilisation of varied domains, including response to disaster relief operations.

The competition is named after the legendary Air Commodore Mehar Singh, MVC, DSO - affectionately also known as Mehar Baba.

It is open to only indigenous talent and indigenous start-ups.

It was conceptualised to evolve proprietary design, development, manufacturing and production of low cost-high impact solutions for swarm drone technology.

All aircraft operators face a challenge: (i) keeping the aircraft operating surfaces clean and clear of Foreign Object Debris (FOD), (ii) this is a labour-intensive task that needs to be repeated over a day, (iii) visual spotting of Foreign Object Debris in low light conditions, etc.

Swarm Drone Based System should be able to:

to scan and detect sub-centimetre size foreign objects on aircraft operating surfaces.

to carry a range of payloads and sensors, have image correction ability, provide alerts and provide accurate location and discernable image of foreign objects.

to operate in GPS denied environment, complete operating cycle within 30 minutes and operate day and night and in reduced visibility as well as light windy conditions.