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Pakistan’s first indigenously designed medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Shahpar-II, is off to a promising start. It is being inducted by the Pakistan Army (PA) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), while Global Defence and Industrial Solutions (GIDS) is now marketing a Block-II version. The National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) is also developing a larger and more capable variant, Shahpar-III.
In terms of developing MALE UAVs, it appears that Pakistan – especially through NESCOM – is making progress. In fact, the jump from the Shahpar-II to the Shahpar-III will be significant.
The Shahpar-III will have a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 1,650 kg, payload of 400 kg to 530 kg across six hardpoints, 20 hours of endurance, range of 3,000 km, and service ceiling of 35,000 feet. It will be Pakistan’s largest indigenous drone to-date and a domestic analogue to systems like the Turkish Anka-S, Chinese Wing Loong-II, and American MQ-1C.
However, each of Pakistan’s service arms is looking to leverage drones to augment – or even supplant – key aspects of their operations. From vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAVs to loitering munitions of various sizes to unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), the imperative from all of the Tri-Services is driving the Pakistani industry to develop many solutions.
This work could extend into the development of attritable unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) for the PAF. In a recent promotional video, the PAF stated that developing manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capabilities was one of its goals.
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