The Aero India show this week at the IAF’s Yelahanka air base already has its core flavour nailed — a mammoth and long-awaited deal for 83 LCA Tejas Mk1A and trainer fighters that will be signed during the show — but a quick jaunt around the stalls has thrown up something way, way more significant.
Hanging from the ceiling at HAL’s pavilion is an LCA Tejas bristling with munitions — many of them new — with an inaugural mock-up of HAL’s Warrior loyal wingman drone sitting on the ground below it.
The Warrior, part of the CATS (Combat Air Teaming System) family, broke cover in 2019 as the ‘Unmanned Wingman’ as a partnership between HAL and a start-up firm. The Warrior mock-up visible at the show this year is seen with an internal weapons bay deploying a DRDO Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), an indigenous stand-off munition recently tested from a Hawk jet trainer over the Bay of Bengal. The Warrior, structurally a sort of cross between Boeing’s Air Power Teaming System (ATS) and the Kratos Valkyrie loyal wingman drone system, is to be a teaming drone that functions with assets that will include the LCA Tejas as well as the Rafale.
The CATS family is an ambitious one that represents the IAF’s impulse to leap-frog many steps into a capability that’s making major strides in other countries. A member of the CATS family breaking cover in the HAL ensemble is the CATS Hunter, a SCALP-like cruise missile, as is the CATS ALFA-S switchblade swarm drone (being developed by HAL with New Space Research & Technologies) that was displayed at Aero India 2019 as a teaming system with a Jaguar weapons upgrade package by HAL called ‘Jaguar MAX’. The Indian Air Force is said to have expressed deep interest in the ALFA-S as a smart hunter-killer system.
The ‘CATS MAX’ label next to the LCA Tejas in the above illustration indicates the fighter intergrated with the CATS interface that allows it to control the drones.
Aviation analyst Angad Singh says, “The highlight at HAL is definitely manned-unmanned teaming. Some rather enticing UAS concepts on display, from loyal wingman, to air-launched switchblade swarm drones, and cruise missile shaped air-launched wingmen! All centred on the LCA as HAL’s flagship product going forward.”
The Indian Air Force has been looking to make up for over over a decade of meandering wait-and-watch on technologies, big data and artificial intelligence, and is being helped along by a cluster of focused private start-up firms operating in the Bengaluru area, many manned by former IAF personnel with deep understanding of how leading edge tech melds into the IAF’s legacy assets and structures.
Another taxpayer paid pipe dream.we should atleast be realistic in reviewing these so called concepts on defense blogs unlike mainstream broadsheets whose reporters can’t differentiate between Su30 and a c130 as pointed out by the authors
You’re on the wrong blog if you’re looks ng for critical analysis. Probably better go to Ajai Shukla for that.
abey @Sid, tu pessimism ki dukaan hai bhai.. Tu peechey dekhta reh aur rota reh. Yahan aagey badhne ka time aa gaya hai. Finally a govt that is allowing a healthy, symbiotic relationship between public and private companies. Past mistakes have taught us many things. We will improvise, invent and execute. Bhai tere pipe mein jo anta hai woh tu maar. ?
@SID I’d rather have my taxpayer dollars spent on futuristic clean-slate defence and space tech which have significant multiplier effects on the economy rather than screw driver tech driver integration work that has been the playbook of the past. It’s time for Indian defence to up the ante and make bold moves and to do that you need to back it up with our hard earened tax dollars. Kudos to the current administration for putting the money where their mouth is and increasing the budget outlay for Defence by 15%. Indian Defence outfits ( both public and private) have turned a significant corner w.r.t. mastering key foundational technologies which will accelerate the time to battle-field for these futuristic platforms. Great job Team India !
Couldn’t be happier to see HAL putting such an impressive show-n’-tell for Aero India !
I wish I could be as optimistic as you but you see I have already spoken to some IAF pilots who have access to the Tejas and they have very little positive to say about it. Infact if Tejas is to fly then its only going to be an asset to Pakistan and China. Because it will help their war effort with our money. Unfortunately in war the pilot with dabbas end up as prisoners or dead. Ask IAF , they have found that to their charging in Feb 2019. Instead of trying to pay salaries of babus masquerading as scientists and buying already old technology for high cost, lets encourage western aircraft makers with thought through order sizes to set up factories in India.
Apply some burnol ..your comment reeks of heartburn?
If u would have read the article it would have suggested u, that it’s not just HAL but also private start ups manned with former IAF officers. So stop being a pessimistic f*ck and keep ur morally derailing thoughts to urself.
This is a good idea. India should stop all R&D and just buy western defence products. Since Sid has “already spoken to some IAF pilots” and found out that Indian scientists are “babus” there is no point in doing R&D and making “dabbas”. The past is the future. Mistakes will be repeated, there will never be any scientists and innovation. The west will always come to save us and will always fulfill our defence needs. Lets shut down Tejas program. It is “dabba”.
chup mad*arch0d @sid.
Every pilot who flew Tejas has praised it not sure which pilots you have been in contact with. Tejas is going to be a stepstone for future fighter development for India.
You have to start somewhere. US didn’t develop F-35 in their first attempt. Please take care and don’t worry!
Sure, Tejas is the step stone for future fighter programs for India, but I do agree that it is not up to the mark. Sure we are no one to comment on the designer’s efforts, but every time we come up to that level and just miss it by few inches and then again we start from scratch. Imagine what if we continued the projects after HAL Marut!? Even Marut was preety good. We could have been a Aviation Powerhouse by now. But the political will matters. However the signs are good. The main issue many scientists pointed out is of indigenous engines. We are pretty good with aerodynamics and material studies. The best is yet to come.
As far as close combat fighting capabilities are concerned, LCA Tejas is far far better than any existing ones, including Rafael.
Radar detection capabilities, weapon arsenals it carries are easily upgradable later on if required, so not an issue for Tejas selection.
Yes. Its load carrying capacity is just about 50% as that of Rafael etc. This short coming is already addressed in MK2 version, so going good.
As far as Pakistani/Chinese latest weapons are concerned, LCA is far ahead.
Buddy don’t shoot, I operated at Tejas Base in South and attended multiple briefings with Tejas Pilots. They speak exactly opposite of what you are speaking.
Last
Dear Abdul use your original name
You have no id. You are just a random bot or leftist superiorist
Hey Dalal i have 6 fighter pilot Friends and 3 of them have flown tejas, do you want to hear the positives? Better engine, Exceptional Air to ground performance better than both the Mig-27 and 29, better serviceability, better turn around times, 12 fighters alone flew more sorties than 4 Sukhoi/Mig-29 squadrons combined in 2019 exercise vayu shakti, its light and agile, and you are lying…
where have you been living? Pakistan, i am sure you are.
Hi Shiv,
Living in US has advantages. However, it has certain disadvantages like missing the air show and I mostly depend upon you for the new stuff and discuss. Can you please get more of your articles on the show please.
Thanks
I am worried, this is unusual. This is the time when you are most active. However, this year you only had 1 article on the air show. Are you okay?
Livefist Team ….please reply to this post and update me/us if SHIV is okay.
Praying to hear from you soon.
Thanks
Raman
I wish to be a part of excitement. At one place, I am full of trepidation, what if future government doesn’t share the dream of making them and scrap them off. But if after years of funneling money, effort and hope; IAF deems it as unworthy.
Only time will tell if it was a pipe dream or Not.
Bharat Mata ki Jai
Really impressed by HAL at AERO India this year. Things are looking optimistic. Tejas MK1A has been signed, we have the Mk2 , TEDBF and AMCA in the pipeline and also all our impressive UAVs are also taking shape. Only and only if we can figure out our Indigenous engine conundrum.
Shiv ,
Love your website and youtube channel for the amazing work you do…Really wish if you can shed some light on where our engine program is headed and also our trainer aircrafts (HTT-40 and IJT) , they seem to have gone under the radar in the midst of all the fanfare.
Thanks
Sir, Teeming
Good that every major nation is after this technology and we have joined too, hopefully we will have team drones near the time other major militaries do.
Another taxpayer paid pipe dream.we should atleast be realistic in reviewing these so called concepts on defense blogs unlike mainstream broadsheets whose reporters can’t differentiate between Su30 and a c130 as pointed out by the authors