This one is the Sheshnaag-50, also from NRT:
We will have so much fun tracking all these programs in the next few years.
Another photo of the Abhimanyu:
Love the paint scheme. I wish Navy retains this.
HAL Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Program - Updates and Discussion
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We will have so much fun tracking all these programs in the next few years.
Love the paint scheme. I wish Navy retains this.
NRT is surely killing it. First, they contracted for HAPS and now CCA with the IN.
If you're betting on the IAF to reject the concept of CCAs, whereas literally everyone else in the world (including Russians, French & Chinese) are doing the opposite, I wouldn't say that's a safe bet.
It's not that simple. While we have some idea of what the US, China, and Russia are intending to do, the French haven't showed off anything outside SCAF.
And the extent of development India's Abhimanyu will see is also unclear. We know there's an expendable version, which was selected by the IN, and very likely to be selected by the IAF too, but there's no talk yet of a non-expendable version with an IWB.
SCAF has both expendable (ERC) and non-expendable (RRC) versions, but the latter is being developed by the Germans, the former by MBDA. So the ERC can find its way into French inventory, but there's a question mark about the latter. The French military's goal is not to use imported technologies on Rafale, so they will need their own independent program for RRC, and we haven't seen that happening yet. Rather, we know there's a more capable flying wing version being developed by Dassault instead.
Ghatak is fully autonomous. The French drone will be fully autonomous but will also have a man-in-the-loop type system for the Rafale to exploit. But these are very expensive in comparison to American CCAs.
Kendall: CCA Increment 2 Shouldn’t Be ‘Exquisite,’ But Better than Increment 1
Increment 2 of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) should have more capability but not be "exquisite," Secretary Frank Kendall said.
www.airandspaceforces.com
“The idea here is affordable mass,” he explained during an extensive exit interview. Wargames and analyses have shown that CCAs in large numbers multiply combat options for the Air Force and impose a significant cost on any adversary, who must take each one seriously and dedicate missiles or countermeasures to stop them, Kendall said. Making a highly capable—and expensive—CCA would defeat that value, he said.
Then again, here's a big clue.
CCA drones may not be tied to NGAD, need line-of-sight control: Kendall - Breaking Defense
The Air Force Secretary emphasized whatever plane flies with CCAs, it'll be manned and will need line-of-sight to maintain "tight control."
If they end up disconnecting NGAD from traditional CCAs and push it on older jets, then we can assume more expensive options are in the works for NGAD instead, similar to what the French are doing with Rafale F5. And it's very likely that India will follow suit via MRFA Rafales. There's no guarantee even Abhimanyu will link up with MRFA Rafales.
Another big clue is HAL has no intention of competing with Abhimanyu within its class. They instead developed a much larger system. Now your expectation is IAF/IN will choose two different types of CCAs instead of sticking with one, and this coming at a time the forces are trying to push HAL out of the aerospace equation.
So even if Rafale doesn't get these cheaper CCAs, but LCA and MKI do, it's much more likely that HAL's offerings will not make the cut.
So I'm betting on NewSpace's tech and France's decision concerning Rafale's future.
@Parthu
This is what I envision our requirement to be.
www.twz.com
Versus Kendall's version of larger drones.
This is what I envision our requirement to be.
Navy's Vision For Disposable Carrier-Based Loyal Wingman Drones Comes Into Focus
The Navy wants carrier-based drones to cost less than $15 million and be 'consumed' as weapons or targets when their short service ends.
www.twz.com
Versus Kendall's version of larger drones.
India’s Own Long-Range Swarming Killer Drone Flies
February 15, 2025 / By Team Livefist
Even as India’s dilemmas over its next manned fighter drastically deepen, even as the Indian government begins navigating the waters of a fresh Trump pitch of F-35 stealth fighters, a game changing bit of flight test has just begun at a test range in India’s aeronautical hub of Karnataka. Sheshnaag-150, a long-range collaborative attack swarming system developed by startup Newspace Research Technologies (NRT) has taken to the air to validate not just the flying vehicle, but far more importantly the homegrown code that will allow these systems to perform ‘mass and saturation’ attacks on protected enemy sites.
While still images of the Sheshnaag 150’s first flight were posted on social media during the just concluded Aero India 2025 show in Bengaluru, Livefist has a short video of the flight:
View attachment Sheshnaag 150.mp4
The Sheshnaag-150, part of an intended family of intelligent swarming sytstems being developed from scratch by NRT, is designed for coordinated swarm attacks, allowing multiple drones to overwhelm enemy defenses and execute precision strikes. With an operational range of over 1000 km and endurance of over 5 hours, it can loiter over target areas, providing real-time surveillance and strategic attack options. The air vehicle itself is perhaps the most rudimentary part of the program, the real meat of NRT’s package being the software and electronic connective tissue that will play mother to the Sheshnaag 150 and the other collaborative systems being delivered under the Sheshnaag umbrella. This particular saystem under test will be able to autonomously identify, track, and engage enemy targets with minimal or no human intervention. Apart from strike missions, it supports ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and electronic warfare (EW) operations. The ability to carry 25-40 kg warheads allows for significant damage to enemy infrastructure, vehicles, or personnel.
The Sheshnaag 150 is being developed internally by the startup and will be pitched for the certain deep strike swarm-based needs of the Army, Air Force and the Navy. As the Indian armed forces grapple with conventional gaps and juggle the implications of budgetary pressures, the space for swarming systems can only blow up. In the words of an IAF officer familiar who was briefed on the Sheshnaag 150 at the Aero India 2025 show, “There is always space for such a platform which can create a combat mass with disaggregated payloads and attack options.”
When ready and deployed, India could deploy the Sheshnaag-150 systems to strengthen its defence posture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan. Given the long-range and swarm capabilities of these drones, they could be used for persistent surveillance and precision strikes against enemy military build-ups in the event of an escalation, bunkers, and infiltration attempts. For instance, during a border standoff, a swarm of Sheshnaag-150 drones could be launched to patrol high-altitude regions, identifying adversary troop movements in real time. If an incursion is detected, these drones could autonomously engage enemy positions, neutralising threats before they escalate into full-scale confrontations, while minimising risks to Indian soldiers.
Beyond border security, India could perhaps use the Sheshnaag-150 for preemptive counter-terror operations in hostile areas. If intelligence suggests an impending terror attack, a drone swarm could be dispatched to track and eliminate high-value targets in remote hideouts along the LoC, particularly in areas where manned operations would be risky. The drones could conduct coordinated strikes on terror camps, ammunition depots, or infiltration routes, effectively disrupting enemy networks. Additionally, their electronic warfare (EW) capabilities could jam enemy communications, further degrading their ability to coordinate attacks.
Building small air vehicles isn’t overly complex. But developing the algorithmic secret sauce that converts them into intelligent, resilient, constantly self-refreshing flying weapons that talk to each other and chart out autonomous, efficient attack plans is a whole different thing. NRT, which has bet the farm on the success of this proprietary mother-code, already has a mature fixed wing swarming stack which has been tested with radio comms, 4/5g and SATCOM options. According to an update on the company’s LinkedIN page, NRT commanded and controlled a swarm of drones from its home city of Bengaluru while the swarm was flying in Ladakh over 2,500 km away at the other end of the country, show-casing very long range control and communication with deep strike drones. The company has also recently announced development of a visual navigation system (VNS), which can help the Sheshnaag 150 swarm navigate in global nav-sat system (GNSS) denied environments. The build-up to testing the Sheshnaag-150 has allowed NRT to bring its swarming autonomy stack to an advanced level.
Commentators on social media, where the Sheshnaag 150 broke cover this week, have likened the system to the Iranian Shahed 136 (or the Russian Geran 2) loitering munition, though as stated, it is the software framework in which Sheshnaag 150 and its cousin systems will operate that will separate it widely from conventional systems on market. The Indian Air Force currently operates the tactical non-swarming Israeli Harop as a frontline loitering munition.
Photo: Arihant Ray
When fielded, the Sheshnaag-150 will enhance modern battlefield capabilities by reducing reliance on expensive, crewed aircraft while increasing operational flexibility. Its ability to saturate enemy defenses and conduct cost-effective precision strikes will likely make it very valuable in attritable warfare, exemplifying to most watching, the future of warfare.
Introducing the Sheshnaag program on social media this week, NRT CEO Sameer Joshi wrote, “Much like the mythological multi headed snake from Indian scriptures which strikes its prey with deadly effects, the different types of unmanned systems under the Sheshnaag brand will undertake precision strikes in the tactical battlefield area with de-centralised swarm based kinetic and non-kinetic effects. Utilising collaborative autonomy and advanced mission workflows, these one-way attack UAVs will be able to saturate targets between ranges of 15 km, to strikes in depth of over 1000 km. NRT’s Sheshnaag series will enable next-generation concept of operations for Indian MoD users. The Sheshnaag drones are a major development initiative under NRT’s Fused Teaming With Uncrewed Rapid Effects FUTURE multi-domain combat doctrine.”
While the Sheshnaag program is currently internal, NRT is already plugged into a major active capability development program with the Indian military. You can read about the latest (and biggest) here. In 2021, NRT won a $15 million order from the Indian Army to supply 100 swarm drone units to develop swarming concept of operations (CoP_ as well as explore technologies like manned unmanned teaming, with an emphasis on learning lessons to help design future swarming systems.
India’s Own Long-Range Swarming Killer Drone Flies - Livefist
That speed is not sufficient for operations alongside fighters. They will have to enter contested airspace long before the fighter does, which means questionable survivability.
It's weird that they are trying to match Abhimanyu's performance instead of Valkyrie's, when the Abhimanyu is expected to operate in a very different manner.