Last week, Pakistan’s Ministry of IT and Telecom hosted its inaugural Indus Robotics and Autonomous Systems Expo (Indus RAS Expo 2026), during which many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private sector companies showcased their progress in drone, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Indus RAS Expo was a key piece of the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to demonstrate its support for developing and producing new technologies in the country. Indeed, immediately after the exhibition, the government also inaugurated a new hyperscale-capable data centre, Sky47, a key node of Pakistan’s efforts to build sovereign cloud and AI capabilities.
Though broad in focus (with a significant commercial/civilian industry presence), it was clear from the exhibition that defence was a lead driver of Pakistan’s emerging drone ecosystem.
This was already apparent from the growing roster of loitering munitions, advancing applications (e.g., indigenous rocket-assisted take-off motors), and indigenizing upstream inputs (e.g., locally produced piston engines for drones). However, Indus RAS Expo offered a glimpse of Pakistan’s drone industry depth, with public and private companies alike adapting to global industry shifts in lock-step.
Integrated Interceptor Drone Systems
Earlier in May 2026, the Pakistan Army had revealed that it was working on interceptor drones designed for neutralizing loitering munition, quadcopter, and other unmanned aerial system (UAS) threats. At that time, the Army released a video still showing a large number of interceptors that it had tested.
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