The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) is an Indian unmanned and manned combat aircraft air teaming system (HAL). The system will consist of a manned fighter aircraft serving as the system’s “mothership” and a swarm of UAVs and UCAVs governed by the mothership aircraft.
The mothership aircraft is most likely a twin-seat HAL Tejas. Other system components are currently being developed and will be produced in collaboration with HAL, National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and Newspace Research & Technologies.
Primary Goal of CATS
The primary goal is to develop a number of advanced aerial platforms capable of acting as atmospheric satellites for high-altitude surveillance, performing autonomous deep penetration precision strikes from a standoff distance with maximum firepower while minimising human error and the threat to life. HAL intends to finish all project-related development work by 2024 or 2025.
CATS– Design and development
HAL Combat Air Teaming is a hybrid of a manned fighter aircraft acting as the “mother ship” and a swarm of UAVs and UCAVs. The goal is to create an artificially intelligent (AI) high-altitude surveillance drone, air launch platform, and loitering munitions with full situational awareness that can take out enemy targets from a greater distance without the need for human intervention. Since 2017, the Indian Air Force (IAF), HAL, and Newspace Research & Technologies have been quietly working on the CATS project, beginning with the development of subsystems. Initial testing was carried out at Pokhran Test Range in the same year.
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All of the systems, which are currently in various stages of design and development, will be produced jointly by HAL as the leading project agency in collaboration with National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), the DRDO’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), and Newspace Research & Technologies in 2021. Under the ACID project, CAIR is the primary subcontractor developing advanced combat algorithms for artificially intelligent, autonomous target acquisition systems. According to HAL, converting Tejas Mark 1A to the MAX platform will take 15 months. HAL will develop CATS Hunter and CATS ALFA under the terms of the work share agreement. Simultaneously, Newspace Research will work on ALFS-S and CATS Infinity. While CATS Warrior will be a collaborative effort.
Components of CATS
CATS Warrior
CATS Warrior will be powered by an improved version of the HAL PTAE-7 twin turbojet engine that was previously used in the DRDO Lakshya. It, like the loyal wingman drone, is an unmanned stealth platform that can be controlled by the Mothership CATS MAX from as far as 150 kilometres away in formation of 2-4 warrior drones and can fly alongside it to accomplish tasks such as scouting, absorbing enemy fire, or even attacking targets with its internal weapons if necessary.
CATS Hunter
The CATS Hunter will have a KEPD 350-like appearance, weigh 600 kg (1,300 lb), and be powered by a single HAL PTAE-7 turbojet engine. It is intended to be a low-observable standoff air-launched cruise missile that can be integrated into CATS MAX, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, or Su-30MKI and will consist of an interchangeable weapon carriage section that can carry 250 kg (550 lb) of unitary warhead or cluster munition with a striking range of 200-300 km (120–190 mi).
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CATS ALFA
It is a carrier that will be equipped with the Air Launched Flexible Asset Swarm (ALFA-S) loitering munition. The carrier is capable of gliding and can travel up to 100 kilometres (62 miles) after being launched from the mothership. Once the desired distance has been reached, the ALFA-S can automatically separate from CATS ALFA and fly using its own propulsion, increasing the overall striking range. ALFA-S weighs 25 kg (55 lb), has 1 to 2-metre-long foldable wings, and can carry 5 to 8 kilogrammes of warhead at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
CATS Infinity
It is a 500 kg solar-powered high-altitude drone with a range of up to 3 months at a cruising altitude of 70,000 feet (21,000 metres). Infinity will be outfitted with a terrain mapping camera and will be capable of producing airborne real-time cueing hyperspectral enhanced reconnaissance for deep strike aerial missions inside enemy territory. The drone, which has a wingspan of 50 metres, is powered by multiple ultra-lightweight electric motors that generate speeds of 90 to 100 kilometres per hour. New Space is developing high-density rechargeable Lithium-Sulphur batteries to help power the system continuously for a longer period of time.
HAL’s Eye in the Sky
To keep surveillance on the ground below, HAL is also preparing to create an unmanned aircraft system that can fly constantly at a height of around 70,000 feet for two to three months. No other nation has yet created the futuristic idea, which HAL has referred to as a “world’s first.” To strengthen India’s space power, the solar-powered device will also be built in collaboration with a start-up.
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IAF will receive basic instructors from HAL
Early this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the supply of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft, with room for an additional 38. With more than 60% indigenous content, the production will take place at two HAL manufacturing plants in Nashik and Bengaluru.
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