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Pakistan Looks to Use Drones as Strike Assets Plus

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is integrating numerous stand-off range weapons (SOW) to its newly inducted Bayraktar Akıncı drone.

In a new promotional video covering the newly launched National Aerospace Science and Technology Park (NASTP), the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) revealed that it was integrating numerous stand-off range (SOW) air-to-surface munitions to its newly inducted Bayraktar Akıncı and Bayraktar TB2 drones.

The Bayraktar Akıncı is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) drone with a payload capacity of 1,500 kg, top speed of 150-195 knots (depending on engine type), and endurance of 24 hours. The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone with a payload capacity of 150 kg, top speed of 70-120 knots, and an endurance of 27 hours. By acquiring both drones, the PAF essentially gained a ‘heavyweight-lightweight’ combination between the Akıncı and TB2, respectively.

The PAF’s Bayraktar Akıncı was displayed with the ‘Indigenous Range Extension Kit’ (IREK) precision-guided bomb (PGB) kit, laser-guided bomb (LGB), and MK-83 general purpose bombs (GPB). The Bayraktar TB2, on the other hand, was displayed with the KEMANKEŞ miniature cruise missile. The KEMANKEŞ  weighs 30 kg and offers a range of 200 km with a 6 kg warhead.

Separately, the PAF also showed that it also had a new variant of the KEMANKEŞ known as the KaGeM V3, a reportedly larger and longer-ranged cruise missile.

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