“This cadre will be of operators in terms of piloting and will reduce the load on helicopter pilots,” Lt. Gen. Suri said speaking at a seminar on UAVs organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies and Indian Military Review. Stating that Indian Army has been using UAVs for the last two decades, he said they have primarily used them in the northern and western borders. A major part of the surveillance is carried out by them, he added.

The proposal is currently with the Army headquarters and once cleared, will be sent to the Defence Ministry for approval, officials said on its status. A similar proposal for a separate UAV cadre by the IAF has been long pending with the Defence Ministry for approval.

In August 2021, Army Aviation got control of the UAVs of the Army which were earlier under Artillery. The Army operates over 30 Heron UAVs procured from Israel.

Speaking at the seminar, Air Marshal Radhakrishnan Radhish, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Western Air Command, said the IAF has a road map for induction of more capable medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs as well as high-altitude long-endurance UAVs. IAF is joining an indigenous effort to develop a UCAV and Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) has been sanctioned to develop the niche technologies, he stated.

The Bengaluru-based ADE is under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Stating that the “unmanned market” is expected to see a significant growth in India, Air Marshal Radhish added that by 2026 it is anticipated to be the world’s third largest market.

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Known as the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior, the project began in 2018 and was showcased during Aero India 2021.

The company described the Warrior as a twin-engined autonomous, unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). The aircraft is intended to operate behind or alongside manned fighter aircraft to protect their tails. The UCAV is being designed to attack aerial and ground targets.

According to an HAL source, the project has advanced since Aero India 2021.

“The CATS Warrior is currently in wind tunnel testing. Our original timetable for deployment was 2024–25 and we expect flight testing of the CATS Warrior to start in 2024,” the source told Janes .

Janes understands that the company has two indigenous engine options for the Warrior. One is HAL’s PTAE-7, a 400 kg, 3.43 kN single spool turbojet developed in the 1980s. The second is HTFE-25, a 25 kN turbofan under development by HAL.

Janes reported previously that the HTFE-25 has a twin-spool, mixed-flow, low bypass configuration. The low pressure spool consists of a three-stage low-pressure fan driven by single-stage low-pressure turbine, and the high pressure spool consists of a five-stage high-pressure compressor driven by a single-stage high-pressure turbine.

The company said that it hopes to certify the engine by 2025.

“As the CATS Warrior is a twin-engined design, we believe that using two HTFE-25 engines will give the UCAV the necessary performance to match frontline combat aircraft,” the HAL source said.

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