When one thinks of Pakistan’s defence industry, they think of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that operate under thick veils of secrecy and produce systems of a strategic nature.
In addition to strategic systems, like ballistic and cruise missiles, during the last two decades this industry has also manufactured JF-17 jets at Paksitan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra for the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and several UAV and UCAV models at various SOEs.
However, calling what we have in Pakistan an industry is disingenuous due to the way that these organizations operate. Large sums of taxpayer money are put into these organizations and in return some, not all, of the demand of Pakistan’s armed forces are met.
Yes, there are some success stories of import substitution, notably small arms, the JF-17, and Al-Khalid tanks.
But there are also many more failures of the local industry, and these failures manifest in off-the-shelf purchases, such as VT-4 tanks, J-10 fighter jets, all types of drones, surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems, satellites, and all types of naval vessels.
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