Combat Air Teaming System | Future Of Air Warfare
India’s new Warrior Drone, included in the indigenous Combat Air Teaming System (CATS), was developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It also has the private sector included in its development. This was revealed at Aero India 2021.
What is a Combat Air Teaming System?
It is a composite merger of managed and unmanaged platforms that collaborate to penetrate any place/ airspace that the enemy heavily and potentially defends. Combat Air Teaming System parts displayed at Aero India 2021 also included a cruise missile named CATS Hunter and CATS ALFA-S switchblade swarm drone. This manned-unmanned teaming system is still under development in India. The HAL is developing it along with private sector players.
Process of teaming
The system comprises various drones housed in a carrier which is then mounted on a fighter. It can fly 100 km before deploying the drones. These drones can hit enemy targets like surface to air missiles sites and the aircraft parked on the ground. The loyal wingman could be armed with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles as well. At Aero India, a warrior model was displayed this year which carries a Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW), an indigenously developed precision-guided, long-range, standoff weaponry made and designed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The fighter jets of IAF will be upgraded and adapted to command unmanaged warrior platforms. A single fighter jet will be upgraded to control multiple Warrior drones and carry other elements of CATS.
Components
1. CATS WARRIOR
CATS Warrior is a part of the HAL Combat Air Teaming System program. Its work is believed to be started in early 2019 under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the state-owned HAL & an Indian private startup, Newspace R&D. HAL has made an initial investment of Rs 400cr in CATS Warriors & Aero India 2021, a full-scale mock-up model was presented for the first time.
2. CATS HUNTER
With KEPD 350 like appearance, the CATS Hunter will weigh 600 kg (1,300 lb) and be powered by a single HAL PTAE-7 turbojet engine. It is designed as a low observable standoff air-launched cruise missile integrated into CATS MAX, Mirage 2000, Jaguar or Su-30MKI. It will consist of an interchangeable weapon carriage section based on the mission profile. It can carry 250 kg (550 lb) of unitary warhead or cluster munition with a striking range of 200–300 km (120–190 mi).
3. CATS ALFA
It is a carrier that will contain Air-Launched Flexible Asset Swarm (ALFA-S) loitering munition. The page can glide and cover around 100 km (62 mi) after being launched from the mothership. After reaching the desired length, the ALFA-S can automatically separate from CATS ALFA and fly using its propulsion, increasing the overall striking range. ALFA-S weight 25 kg (55 lb) has foldable wings of 1 to 2 meters long and can carry 5 to 8 kilograms of warhead with a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.
4. CATS INFINITY
For the last few years, NewSpace Research & Technologies has already started developing systems such as CATS Infinity. In 2017, Boeing helped validate the UAV and was impressed by the design and technological advancement of Infinity in aerospace engineering. The first flight of the system designed for the high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) role was planned for 2019. It is a solar-powered high altitude drone with an endurance level for three months at a cruising altitude of 70,000 ft (21,000 m), weighing 500 kg.
Advantage of Drones in War
The 2020 Azerbaijan-Armenia, six-week war will go down in history as the first war in which drones deployed turned the tide of the war. Militaries worldwide closely watched the battle – and it provided a glimpse of the battlefields of the future. Drone strikes destroyed artillery and air defence systems along with tanks of Armenian and Nagorno-Karabakh forces. Azerbaijan has purchased its drones from Israel and Turkey, and it’s now clear that it went into the war knowing it had the edge over its foe.
What can India learn?
The Indian military needs to improve both an offensive and defensive strategy concerning drones. It would have to use attack drones to target the enemy and build sufficient anti-drone defence. Buying billions of worth of expensive military equipment that a wave of enemy drones can quickly destroy is not precisely an intelligent strategy.
India buying Predators (Drone)
After learning from this war, India pans to buy 30 armed drones from the U.S. to improve its sea and land defences as tensions persist with neighbours China and Pakistan. India is rising as a strategic defence partner for the U.S., particularly in countering Chinese impact in the Indian Ocean and some areas of Southeast Asia.
