The Tejas – and its Loyal Warriors

The future was also on display (albeit in mock up or model form) with HAL showcasing its CATS (Combat Air Teaming System) which is “a composite amalgamation of manned and unmanned platforms which work together to penetrate heavily defended enemy airspace”. Revealed for the first time also were an array of stealthy UCAVs, being developed by DRDO.

Hinted at during Aero India 2019 and then publically revealed at Yelahanka two years later was a full scale model of the Warrior weaponised drone being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). This is part of the indigenous programme CATS (Combat Air Teaming System) which is “a composite amalgamation of manned and unmanned platforms which work together to penetrate heavily defended enemy airspace.” This is India’s equivalent of the ‘Loyal Wingman’ project which stealth unmanned aerial vehicle is in development by Boeing Australia to perform autonomous missions using artificial intelligence.

According to reports, there will be multiple Warriors controlled by the Tejas pilot, the drones equipped with air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry.

Also under development by HAL alongside the Bangalore-based Newspace Research & Technologies is the Hunter cruise missile with a range of 200 kilometers and swarm drones known as ALFA-S with the objective of attacking multiple targets identified through artificial intelligence. The drones will be housed in a aerodynamically designed carrier mounted on a Jaguar strike fighter.