Ahead of the Aero India 2025 which is scheduled to be held next month, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has achieved a significant milestone by conducting the engine ground run of a full-scale demonstrator, Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) – Warrior on January 11, 2025.
The Bengaluru headquartered defence PSU over the last few years has developed the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) which it had earlier said involves the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas as the mother-ship platform.
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“The flagship program of HAL, Combat Air Teaming System achieved a significant milestone by successfully conducting the Engine Ground Run of a Full-Scale Demonstrator, CATS – Warrior,” HAL announced.
It added that this demonstrates synergy between various R&D centres of HAL with Aircraft design and integration by Aircraft Research & Design Centre (ARDC), indigenous Mission Computer from SLRDC and indigenous power plant from AERDC.
The prototype aircraft is slated to be unveiled at Aero India 25. In the 2021 edition of the Aero India CATS, simulator was showcased.
The simulator had the TEJAS–MAX cockpit as the mother-ship platform with the embedded air teaming intelligence concepts to demonstrate the fully integrated as well as autonomous wingman platforms and swarming of drones to engage in the mission. Immersive mission visualization was also projected over a wider screen apart from the command and display at the TEJAS-MAX cockpit.
It can be recalled that the defence PSU has been developing CATS which involves the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas as the mother-ship platform along with components such as the Hunter, Alpha and Warrior.
A senior HAL official involved in HAL’s R&D, HAL has said the CATS is a combined air teaming system with the mothership flying on top along with Hunter which can inflict strikes deep inside the enemy territory. The Alpha will be equipped with swarm drones and the Warrior can strike after entering nearly 700 km inside the enemy territory.
“We dont want our pilots to enter enemy territory. The CATS Hunter, Alpha and the Warrior would instead enter the enemy territory and carry out the attack if need be,” Arup Chaterjee, who was former director engineering, R&D, HAL had said.
Published – January 12, 2025 11:21 am IST
