Pakistan’s Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS) was present at the 2025 Latin America Aerospace & Defence (LAAD) exhibition, which ran from April 01 to April 04, 2025, at the Riocentro Exhibition & Convention Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At LAAD 2025, GIDS showcased its growing product portfolio, including:
- Fatah-I and II precision-guided surface-to-surface missiles (SSM),
- Taimur air-launched cruise missile (ALCM),
- Harbah NG anti-ship cruising missile (ASCM),
- AZB-series of precision-guided bombs (PGB),
- al-Battaar laser-guided bomb (LGB), and
- Blaze-series of loitering munitions, among others.
Editor’s Analysis: Barriers to Pakistan’s Defence Industry Growth
Pakistan faces challenges in establishing itself as a competitive defence supplier due to structural limitations in its industrial ecosystem.
Unlike leading arms exporters such as China, the U.S., or European nations, Pakistan lacks the same depth of vertically integrated production chains that control every stage from raw material processing to advanced manufacturing systems.
While global leaders own entire supply chains – e.g., semiconductor foundries, precision machinery plants, and specialized material production – Pakistan remains dependent on imported subsystems and manufacturing equipment.
For example, despite developing capabilities like miniature turbojet engines for cruise missiles, critical components such as semiconductors, inertial navigation systems, and machine tools for mass production must still be sourced externally.
This dependency creates vulnerabilities: American-led export controls and restrictions have repeatedly disrupted Pakistan’s access to critical dual-use technologies, as seen in the 2024 sanctions on 16 Pakistani firms tied to missile and drone programs.
The absence of foundational industries further constrains scalability. While Pakistan’s defence sector has made strides in munitions design through organizations like NESCOM, it lacks the capacity to produce the manufacturing infrastructure itself.
Pakistan’s nascent National Semiconductor Policy aims to address this gap but requires $6-7 billion in investment and international partnerships for technical support. However, Pakistan’s fiscal spending is generally strained by debt servicing, and its ability to forge strong technical partnerships with strong foreign players is still maturing.
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