Posts Tagged Pak’s Leap in Defense Technology

An excellent piece of news. Should be a game changer for us.

 

Thank God.

 

Military using Made-in-Pakistan Drones Against TTP

 

 

 

 WASHINGTON: Pakistan is making extensive and precise use of its own indigenous drones in the current surgical strikes against the Taliban, security officials and experts confirmed on Tuesday.
 
A top official said ground intelligence, combined with accurate data by the Pakistani drones, had made it possible to take out the TTP targets in Tirah and Mir Ali recently, creating a scare among the TTP ranks not seen before.
 
Sources in Islamabad say the telephone chatter after these strikes had shown that the Taliban were in disarray as they were telling each other if such precise strikes continued, they would be eliminated without even a fight.
 
A senior security official, when asked by me whether in the latest touch and go visit by the CIA chief Brennen to Rawalpindi, had the Pakistan Army asked for intelligence help from the US drone apparatus to pinpoint the TTP hideouts, the response was ‘no’.
 
“The CIA chief’s visit was just a courtesy call on the army chief but Pakistan is using its own ‘parindahs’ (birds) for the strikes that have been conducted. We have effective drones that can help immensely in such situations.”
 
The official was referring obviously to the capability Pakistan had announced in 2012 and confirmed in November 2013 when two locally-produced drones were displayed at an arms exhibition in Karachi.
 
According to a Washington Post report of the event onNov 26: “After years of preparation, the Strategically Unmanned Aerial Vehicles were formally announced by Gen Ashfaq Kayani, chief of Pakistan’s military. The drones, called ‘Burraq and Shahpar’, will not be armed and are to be used only for surveillance, military officials said.”
 
“The development of the drones, thought to have a range of about 75 miles, represents a milestone for the country’s military and scientists,” the Post quoted Pakistani and Western analysts.
 
“It is a landmark and a historic event, wherein a very effective force multiplier has been added to the inventory of the armed forces,” the Pakistani military then said in a statement.
 
Pakistan’s military first revealed its drone technology at a trade show in 2012, but in November last year the formal unveiling coincided with an ongoing farewell tour by Gen Kayani, who was retiring after two terms as army chief, the Post reported.
 
Brig Muhammad Saad, a former senior officer in the Pakistani military familiar with the subject, was quoted as saying that the country already had less-sophisticated drones for intelligence gathering, with a range of about six miles.
 
The newer models, he said, will prove useful for ‘collecting more operational intelligence’ that could help guide helicopter gunships and fighter jets to specific targets. This is a great achievement, and the drones can be used instead of surveillance jets and fighter jets that would be costlier to fly.”
 
Experts say Pakistan is still years away from being able to develop armed drones but Washington Post quoted Peter W Singer, a security analyst at the Brookings Institution, saying most surveillance drones can be armed, though they will lack the precision of US-developed models.
 
“Almost any unmanned system can be armed in a crude style, such as dropping a bomb or even turning it into an equivalent of a cruise missile that you fly into the target,” said Singer, adding that the announcement will probably add to growing fears about proliferation of drone technology.
 
In November of 2012, London’s Guardian newspaper reported that military officials had briefed some of Pakistan’s closest allies about efforts by the army to develop its own combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
 
“The foreign delegates were quite excited by what Pakistan has achieved,” said the official, who was closely involved with organising the four-day International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (Ideas). “They were briefed about a UAV that can be armed and has the capability to carry a weapon payload.”
 
The official said Pakistan wanted to demonstrate to friendly countries, principally Turkey and the Gulf, that it can be self-sufficient in a technology that is revolutionising warfare and which is currently dominated by a handful of countries that do not readily share the capability.
 
A Pakistan Army colonel, who had just finished a tour of the country’s border region, was quoted by the Guardian as saying such small drones were a vital tool. “We have these small drones, but not enough of them and we do not always get them when we have operations,” said the colonel in Nov 2012. “They are excellent for observing their movements and deployments.”
 
But now it is 2014 and the Pakistan Army has as many of these birds as it needs. This will be the latest and the most effective tool in this fight against terrorism. 

Reference

 

SHAHPAR 

UAV System

Shahpar is a medium range tactical UAV System with autonomous take-off and landing. It can carry various types of payloads integrated for reconnaissance and day & night surveillance. Other features include accurate lateral , longitudinal trajectory control, mission planning , management & control , geo referencing & geo pointing for terrestrial targets.

 

Performance Characteristics

Configuration	Canard pusher
Air Vehicle Length	4.2 m
Wing Span	6.6 m (22′)
Gross T/O Weight	480 kg
Payload Weight	50 kg
Endurance	> 7 hrs
Max operating Altitude	5000 m (17000 ft) Approx.
Cruise Speed	150kph
Maximum power of engine	100hp
Data link Range (real time)	250 km
Guidance / Tracking	Autonomous, GPS Based (manual control channel available)
Take-off / launch	Automatic, Wheel take-off
Landing / recovery	Automatic Landing, manual pilot and parachute option available

Main Features

• Autonomous take-off and landing.
• Various types of payloads integrated for reconnaissance and day & night surveillance
• Accurate lateral and longitudinal trajectory control
• Mission planning, management & control
• Built-in data exploitation and dissemination
• Full mission debriefing & simulation
• Military standard hardware (Environmental Standard 810F)
• Geo referencing and geo pointing for terrestrial targets
• MISB compliant video format

 

UQAB UAV SYSTEM 

Tactical UAV System

Uqab is a tactical UAV System which can be effectively used for battle damage assessment, aerial reconnaissance, artillery fire correction, joint forces operations, search and rescue missions, coastal area surveillance, route monitoring, internal security / mob control and flood relief operations etc. Presently the system is being used by Pakistan Security Forces.

Performance Characteristics

Range	150 km
Endurance	6 hrs
Height Ceiling	3,000 m
Speed	120 ~ 150 km/hr
Launch/Recovery	Wheeled
Flight Mode	Autopilot/RPV 1000 way points, Re-programmable during flight Fail-safe mode, Loiter mode & User defined holding patterns
Tracking/Navigation	GPS Based
Telemetry Data	Real time digital video Position and health of UAV Geo-referencing
Payload Weight/Type	Gyro-stabilized gimbal with color day camera, thermal imager with target tracking and locking capabilities
Power Plant	250 km

Dimensions & Weight

Wing Span	5.5 m
Length	4.0 m
Height	1.2 m
Max Takeoff Weight	200 kg (approx)

Ground Control Station (GCS) for Uqab UAV

Ground Control Station is a truck mounted air-conditioned, insulated container which is equipped with standard, ruggedized consoles.

Characteristics

• User friendly mission planning and execution
• Mission de-briefing & simulation
• In-flight mission re-programming
• Flexible waypoints entry & editing during flight (direct from map & keypad)
• Mission parameter & flight data logger for post flight analysis & simulation
• Real time video and telemetry data
• Moving map software
• Geo-referencing
• Easy payload (camera) controls
• Separate consoles for mission commander, UAV pilot & payload operator
• Easy to read displays and gauges
• Standby control links (redundancy)
• Back-up power supply

COURTESY: GIDS  http://gids.com.pk/shahpar   http://gids.com.pk/uqab-uav