India’s premier defence lab, GTRE, has proposed building a new and more powerful jet engine to support the country’s future combat drones and unmanned aircraft.
This new 10 kN engine will be an upgraded version of the existing Manik engine and is designed to boost the performance, range, and capabilities of advanced UAVs like the CATS Warrior.
GTRE Plans New 10kN Turbofan Engine to Power India’s Advanced UAVs
The Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a major lab under India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has proposed developing a new 10 kN (around 850 kgf) turbofan engine.
This new engine will be a larger and more powerful version of GTRE’s current 4.5 kN Small Turbo Fan Engine (STFE), also known as the Manik engine.
This upgraded engine is being designed to power jet-powered Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or upcoming Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) like the CATS Warrior.
While no specific project has officially been assigned this engine yet, it reflects India’s growing focus on developing its own engine technology for future unmanned systems.
The existing STFE is a twin-spool, non-afterburning engine that was originally designed for subsonic cruise missiles and UAVs.
It delivers 4.5 kN of thrust and is ideal for missions that need long endurance at subsonic speeds (around Mach 0.8).
It was successfully flight-tested in October 2022 on the Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM), showing reliability and a compact design suitable for platforms like the Nirbhay missile and Swift UAV.
GTRE now plans to double the thrust with the new 10kN variant.
This will support larger UAVs that need more power, such as India’s MALE UAVs or the CATS Warrior, an unmanned combat drone being developed to fly alongside fighter jets like the HAL Tejas and AMCA.
CATS Warrior is part of a larger “loyal wingman” concept, where unmanned drones assist manned aircraft in missions like surveillance, intelligence gathering, and precision strikes.
With the 10kN engine, drones like CATS Warrior will be able to carry more payload, fly longer, and reach altitudes between 30,000 and 40,000 feet for extended operations.
The engine could also be used in other advanced jet-powered drones for missions such as maritime patrol or reconnaissance.
GTRE’s new engine builds on the same design principles as the STFE, which has a four-stage axial flow compressor, annular combustor, and a single-stage turbine.
It’s also likely to retain useful features like autonomous starting and onboard power generation, both essential for UAV operations.
Backed by technological advancements from other DRDO labs like the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), which has been working on high-pressure turbine blades and cooling technologies, the new engine will be built using modern materials to handle high temperatures and stress.
This development comes as India continues making progress in engine technology. For example, the Kaveri Derivative Engine (KDE) Ghatak stealth UCAV offers a much higher thrust of 48.5 kN.
The new 10 kN engine complements such efforts by focusing on smaller, more flexible UAV platforms.
However, challenges lie ahead. Scaling the STFE to a more powerful 10 kN version will require precise engineering to balance power, fuel efficiency, and weight, especially for applications that demand high agility and endurance.
Given GTRE’s history of project delays, like in the Kaveri engine program, timely funding and clear commitment from users like the Indian Air Force or Navy will be crucial for success.
