Thread by @Tsukuyomi2170

This is going to be a thread about every Major unmanned platform which India has built/ is building / is develping

1 CATS Warrior is a 2 ton Stealth UCAV which is being developed by HAL in collaboration with TATA

CATS Warrior is supposed to work as Collorative Combat Aircraft in conjuction with other manned platform such as Tejas and Su 30 MKI while also protecting them from various threats

It will also be able to carry out Strikes missions on its own with SAAW (IWB and 2 outer hardpoints). It will also carry 2 ASRAAM on outer pylons and will have a range of 300 km.

It will utilise 2 PTAE-W engine with a cmbined thrust of 3.73x2 kN. A single PTAE-W engine weights around 72 KG (84 after installation of LRUs). Electrical output of 1.12 KW, max operating ceiling of 9000 meters.

HAL has manufactured one prototype of CATS Warrior for ground testing while the other prototype is being manufactured for First flight.

2 Ghatak UCAV is a 13 ton VLO UCAV current in development by ADE ith L&T as the DcPP. Ghatak UCAV has a fixed wing design which heavily optimizes it for stealth, endurance and high payload capacity

Ghatak is a drone bomber it will have a payload capacity of 1.5 2 tons and it will be used to carry out SEAD missions

It will also have sensors like EOTS to help it in ISR and target tracking for Strikes missions. The development of Ghatak will see the matrialisation of a lot of nw techonogies like DSI RAS FSS radome etc

It will be powered by KDE engine of 49kN of dry thrust. Moreover GTRE is also developing 2D TVC for Ghatak.

DFB has cleared the procurement of 4 Squadrons/ 60 Ghatak Aircraft but it is yet to recieve CCS nod for sull scale development as the FTB for KDE is pending due to Russia.

3 SWiFT was oriinially designed to be a scaled technology demonstrator for Validating technologies and Fixed wing design of Ghatak.

However due its impressive performance its likely to be inducted by the Armed forces in service as well.

SWiFT is a 1.1 ton class of UAV mostly for ISR purposes but it has the capacity to carry 100 kg of weapons payload in its IWB (most likley ULPGM).

It is currently being powered by Russian NPO Saturn 36MT engine of 4.5 kN thrist but it wil likley be replaced by STFE engine which has a similar thrust.

Development trials are going on SWiFt to validate technology for Ghatak but orders for SWiFt will also be given in its current confriguration.

4 CATS Warrior mk 2

Initial work has started on the develop of a heavier variant of CATS Warrior called CATS Warrior mk 2. Its is designed to be a 9 ton class of UCAV with considerably more range, payload and endurance.

It will be able to carry bigger class of munitions like Rudram 2, TARA and Astra class of BVR missiles. It will also have an AESA radar of its own which will enable it to engage targets at stand off distance without relying on manned radars

It will be powered by 2 HTFE engine of 2 x 25kN of thrust. These engines are also currently in development with prototypes completing 255 tests so far. The engine might also be used for Yashas Jet trainer.

Only the initial studies of the drone has been conducted by HAL as the main focus is on CATS Warrior.

5 Abhimanyu is India's first Collborative combat aircraft developed and designed by a Private sector company led by @joe_sameer

Abhimanyu is designed for the Indian Navy, a 200 kg class UAV which can perform EO/ISR/EW missions while acting as a decoy for manned platforms.

It has an amazing endurance of 2 hours with a range of 1000km.

While the name of the engine is unknown its supposed to be a hybeid engine with jet propulsion.

It will compete with Naval CATS Warrior for the contract of Naval CCA. The drone is currently in development.

6 ADE is working on two different kind of Swarm Kamikaze drones based on the design of SWiFT

Both of them will be powered by small turbofan engines and one variant will also be able to accomodate EO camera for limited ISR roles.

7 RUAV-200 is the fist rotatory UAV of our list. RUAV is currently being developed by HAL for Indian Navy.

RUAV-200 is a 200 class of UAV, it will have an impressive endurance of 3 hours with a range of 100 km. It will have a service ceiling of 6000 m and max payoad of 30kg.

It will be able to VTOL like a conventional manned helicopters making it ideal for IN ships and it will perform SAR, EO and SIGNIT missions.

The drone is currently at development at HAL, its main operator is going to be Indian Navy

8 HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satelline) is a supposed to be a light weight solar powered UAV which is supposed to stay at high altitudes like 60-70k feet for months at a time.

It will be able to carry EO/IR camera for ISR and it will help Indian armed forces in Persistent border surveillance

The good part about HAPS is that there are two seperate entities developing their own variant of HAPS.

One is NRT HAPS which was given 168 crore Medium Altitude Persistent Surveillance System (MAPSS) by the IA and IN is set to recieve the full scale system by 2027

Meanwhile CSIR-NAL is also developing its own variant of HAPS. CSIR-NAL’s subscale vehicle has already achieved 7.5 km altitude and over 10 hours endurance, and the first full-scale flight to 20 km is targeted for 2027.

9 ADE SRUAV/Archer is a Short lower end of MALE drones developed by ADE. It has a service ceiling of 22,000 feet and has an endurance of 12 hours.

It has the weapons payload capacity of 200 kg, and with 150 kg of fuel it has a range of 220km.

It has 2 underwing pylons where it will be able to carry weapons like HELINA ATGM or ULPGM v3. The drone has completed all its trials and is awaiting orders.

10 Tapas UAV is a MALE class UAV developed by ADE for only ISR SAR along with ESM (ELINT, COMINT, UCR) along with maritime roles such as MPAR, AIS and SCS.

Tapas is a 2.8 ton class of UAV which has a payload capacity 350 kg with two wing store which can carry 60 kg each for ISR roles. It has service ceiling of 28k feet with an endurance of 18 hours. It has a range of 250 km with LoS (Line of Sight) and 1000km with SATCOM

Tapas is powered by 2 Austro 330EP piston engines which produces 177 HP each. India is also devoloping its own 180 HP engine to indigenize the engine and improve its performance.

ADE plans to certify the drone with its current performance making it ready for production.

11 Archer NG is a MALE class of UCAV which is being developed by ADE for Strike roles along with ISR SAR and ESM roles

It will be a a 1.8 ton class of MALE UCAV, it will have service ceiling of 30,000 feet altitude with an endurance of 29 hours. It will have a weapons payload capacity of 300 and it will be able to carry ATGMs for stroke roles.

It will be powered by an Indigenous Turbocharged 177 HP engine which will enable it to have a better range and endurance than other UAVs with piston engine though with higher cost.

The prototype for this has taken first flight and Solar Group is the DcPP for this.

12 ADE is also working on HALE RPA is supposed to have higher range, endurance service ceiling and payload capacity compared to other MALE class of drones.

It will be able to do ISTAR and even Anti submarine operations. It will be able to carry EO/IR, SAR, IFF, RWR, ESM payload.

With its 2000kg payload it will also carry heavier class of weapons like SLGB, JDAMS, ASM, and LRASM.

There are 2 different models which are currently in study for thise RPA one being Y tail confriguration similar to MQ-9 and other is SETB (Single engine twin boom) confriguration similar to Archer engine.

It will be powered TPP 331-10-910 HP Turboprob engines. The approval for this drone is yet pending.