HAL’s Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior loyal wingman has demonstrated high performance across a spectrum of simulated mission profiles, including air escort, Suppression and Destruction of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD/DEAD), Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), and precision‑strike operations.

The trials highlight the platform’s growing maturity in networked manned‑unmanned teaming (MUM‑T) with the TEJAS MK-1A and the upcoming AMCA fighter.

The Warrior’s simulations validate seamless sensor‑fusion and data‑link compatibility, enabling shared radar, EO/IR and EW situational feeds with its manned companion.

Operating autonomously under supervisory command, Warrior successfully executed waypoint‑based attack tasks and dynamic re‑routing in contested electronic environments, demonstrating adaptive autonomy critical for next‑generation swarm engagements.

Recent design updates reveal a marked increase in Maximum Take‑Off Weight (MTOW), supporting greater fuel and payload flexibility.

HAL engineers have refined the twin‑intake configuration to enhance low‑observable performance while accommodating additional internal weapons bays. These modifications expand its mission endurance and survivability for deep‑strike and denied‑airspace operations.

The payload options now include modular racks for loitering munitions, smart glide bombs, anti‑radiation missiles, and compact EW pods. This flexibility supports both offensive and protective roles in complex combat networks.

The platform’s digital architecture supports coordinated SEAD sweeps, precision targeting, and stand‑in jamming, providing manned fighters expanded reach and risk distance in hostile airspace.

HAL’s roadmap envisions heavier stealth derivatives of Warrior with advanced composites, radar‑absorbing coatings, and higher‑thrust indigenous turbofan integration.

These variants are expected to complement AMCA squadrons as low‑cost, attritable adjuncts for air‑defence suppression, decoy projection, and autonomous strike missions. The CATS Warrior thus emerges as a pivotal node in India’s evolving air combat ecosystem, combining affordability, survivability, and tactical sophistication in one networked platform.

IDN (With Agency Inputs)