Seamless Integration: India's Manned Unmanned Teaming Doctrine Takes Shape

India's Manned Unmanned Teaming Doctrine: A New Era for Air Power

Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh has outlined a vision for the future of Indian air power, one that seamlessly integrates manned aircraft and drones. This doctrine marks a significant shift in the country's approach to air power, with a focus on real-time classification of friendly and hostile drones.

The key challenge in this new era is the accurate differentiation of friendly and hostile drones at range and speed. India's counter-UAS grid has been proven in action, but the real issue is classification at range and at speed. The Air Chief has emphasized the need for a mechanism to differentiate between legitimate and rogue drones, highlighting the importance of a civil-military UTM framework.

The IAF has already taken steps to address this challenge, with the issuance of two RFI's in January 2026 for counter-swarm systems with AI-based threat classification as a key requirement. The SANKALP 2026 seminar revealed plans to fit the IAF's helicopters with AI-based target identification in EO pods, along with micro-missiles and jammers.

The HAL Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) programme is another key initiative, with the CATS Warrior as the core of the system. This programme aims to create a Tejas variant acting as a mothership to control 2-4 unmanned systems via secure datalinks. The first flight of the CATS Warrior is scheduled for 2027.

The key engineering challenge in this programme is sensor data compression, taking the input from a range of sensors and reducing it to a set of prioritised cues that can fit within the constraints of the secure datalink. This will enable a single shared picture to be available to both the manned cockpit and the unmanned system prior to the action window closing.

India's indigenous CUAS architecture, utilising AI-enabled fusion engines, has already shown promise in addressing the challenge of real-time classification. The DRDO D4 system, Bharat Electronics Akashteer integrated air defence control system, and Zen Technologies integrated CUAS platform all utilise AI-enabled fusion engines to fuse radar tracks, RF emitter signatures, EO/IR confirmation, and acoustic arrays into a single classified object prior to any engagement decision.

The Indrajaal SkyOS platform, contracted for Navy and Army use in January 2026, goes further in this respect by creating a multi-layer engagement log that correlates radar tracks, RF behaviour, GNSS telemetry patterns, and effector command outputs before, during, and after an engagement. This platform will assign a unique identifier to each engagement, ensuring unambiguous attribution even in the case of multiple counter-drone systems operating in the same area.

As India moves forward with its manned unmanned teaming doctrine, it is clear that the country is committed to developing a robust and effective air power capability. With a focus on real-time classification and seamless integration, India is poised to take a significant leap forward in its air power capabilities.