Pakistan turns to drones of its own

[Birsingr_1]

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Reporting from Kamra, Pakistan - In the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan, people are accustomed to the hum of American drones overhead -- and don't like it. The drones kill civilians as well as militants, they say, and use of the pilotless aircraft also tramples Pakistani sovereignty.

This summer in the Swat Valley, Pakistanis again heard drones whirring in the sky, but there was a difference. They were Pakistani-owned and operated, a toe-in-the-water foray into a technology that is revolutionizing warfare.

They weren't missile-carrying drones like the ones used by the U.S., but unmanned aerial vehicles that sent images of targets back to Pakistani command posts. Symbolically, however, they were crucial baby steps for a country desperate to develop its own fleet to better combat a home-grown militancy.

Rebuffed for security reasons in its efforts to buy unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, from the United States, Pakistan has bought unarmed Falco reconnaissance drones from Italy. And in a small, glass-walled laboratory at a state-owned defense enterprise here in Kamra, east of Islamabad, it is gearing up to produce its own modern tactical drones similar to the Falcos it used over the Swat Valley.

Drones have dramatically changed the landscape of war, from Iraq to the Afghan-Pakistani border. U.S. drones equipped with Hellfire missiles have been one of the most effective weapons against Al Qaeda and Taliban militants hiding out in Pakistan's tribal areas, killing at least nine top leaders.

A drone strike Aug. 5 killed Baitullah Mahsud, the Pakistani Taliban leader blamed for overseeing many of the suicide bomb attacks throughout the country, as well as the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

For years, private Pakistani aviation firms have manufactured small, less-sophisticated drones, which have been used for purposes such as ground-to-air target practice.

The government has repeatedly asked Washington to give it weapons-carrying drones like the ones used by the U.S. military to strike militant targets in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the badlands along the Afghan border that serve as safe haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. Washington has refused, however, citing concerns that Pakistan's intelligence services could pass on sensitive data about the drones and their operation to militant leaders.

Pakistan has not stopped trying to acquire drones from the U.S., but it has also decided to begin making its own. The state-owned defense manufacturer Pakistan Aeronautical Complex is teaming up with the Italian company Selex Galileo to produce the Falco locally.Pakistani technicians at Kamra are still in training and several months away from being able to begin making them. In the meantime, Pakistan decided to buy about two dozen Falcos from Italy and put them to use in Swat. The Pakistani military relied heavily on fighter jet airstrikes to eliminate Taliban infrastructure in Swat, and aerial images taken by Falco drones helped them pinpoint those targets.

"Our recent area of interest has been the war on terror, and we've deployed [Falco drones] very successfully," said Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. "It's been extremely useful in current situation."

Falco drones, Khan said, were used during the Swat offensive to locate "all kinds of targets ranging from hide-outs, bunkers, ammo dumps, pickets and other [Taliban] infrastructure."

Defense analyst Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general, says producing surveillance drones marks a good first step toward Pakistan's eventual goal of having UAVs capable of carrying missiles.

"My own assessment is that they have helped in improving intelligence and operations capability of the Pakistani army in Swat," Masood said. "If they were equipped with missiles, then Pakistan would take a quantum leap in counter-insurgency capability."

The Pakistani public would probably be more tolerant of civilian casualties from drones produced and operated by the country's own forces, Masood said.

"If an American drone attacks and there's collateral damage, there's huge anti-American sentiment here," he said. "At the same time, Pakistani civilians have died during Pakistani military operations, and it doesn't generate the same kind of sentiment."

Though the U.S. won't supply Pakistan with drones, it has at times shared with Pakistan surveillance data gathered by American UAVs. Pakistan, in turn, has been more cooperative in providing intelligence to help U.S. drones find their targets. The drone strike against Mahsud was preceded by Pakistani intelligence that helped the U.S. pinpoint his whereabouts.

Lt. Col. Gohar Majeed, who is helping lead drone production at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, says as it stands now, the country's air force would like the firm to build eight to 10 drones.

The Falcos produced in Pakistan, like the Italian-made ones, won't have strike capability and won't be able to stay up in the air nearly as long as the CIA's Predator and Reaper drones. The Falco's flight endurance time is 8 to 14 hours, whereas the Predator's the flight duration record is 40 hours.

"It's got limited range and limited payload capability," said a spokesman for the Pakistani air force, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We do get real-time pictures from it. . . . It's a tactical tool."

Pakistan's ultimate desire, drones equipped with missiles, can eventually be achieved by modifying existing UAVs, Khan said. The question he can't answer is how long that will take.

"Two or three years is not enough time to develop such a program," Khan said. "But everything's possible. There are no hurdles that cannot be crossed."

theasiandefence.blogspot.com/ ASIAN DEFENCE

[Super Falcon]

yes it is good news for us but not so much for u

[BATMAN]

[PakShaheen79]

This approach speaks about vision of PAF and how top brass realized the need of this technology. If political will remains there...no doubt one day Pakistan will able to roll out its own armed UAV.

[sadiqams]

you can not relie on the USA for sustained support you have to develop your own equipment

[Aeronaut]

Thank you for the Informative Post!

PAC is looking forward to a proposed Plan to make its own ARMED DRONE called Burraq with the help of several Friendly countries.
They are supposed to be able to carry , Hellfire or Turkish & Chinese made A2G Missiles & Bombs . The Time given for this Project is 2 years.
I am looking forward that PAC would develop its techniques and would be able to Convert Fighter jets into Pilotless drone package in years to come so that our Fighter Pilots can have a real kill live fire and dogfight practice on them as USAF is using their F4 Phantoms for this purpose , PAF may use its F7's and decommissioned Aircrafts.
Please watch this video:



Regards:

[Myth_buster_1]

I think PAF has already thought of it. Most likely to be a armed Turkish UAV "MALE".

[Mercenary]

Falco looks like a little mosquito compared to the Reaper

[SurvivoR]

But a mosquito with the malaria virus

[jupiter2007]

I think PAF has already thought of it. Most likely to be a armed Turkish UAV "MALE".

MALE UAV can't carry any weapons.

[mughaljee]

Now we are seeing close relation with Turkey , can we say soon we will ba able to built attacker UAV ?

[ice_man]

what i don't understand is why do we need FALCO when we have had the capability to make our own UAVs since the 80s! and the funny part is we sold them for target practice to the ITALIANS!

unless we can make a predator drone buying drones doesn't make much sense to me.........

http://www.ittazee.com/2008/11/28/pa...ced-uav-fleet/

[Patriot]

Falco is equipped with a very good AESA Radar which can provide excellent terrain coverage with IR sensors unlike our homemade UAV's.It is way too advanced.IT can also laser designate targets and then our fighters can bomb those targets.

[Aeronaut]

I was just thinking that may we use these UAV's for the surveillance of our Large demonstrations which often happen in our cities such as Lahore , krachi , islamabad etc , and look for those elements who burn our buses , and destroy public property , break lights and stuff.

i am saying that all of the Demonstrations should be monitored by UAV's to ensure the security of our properties , and Catching the Troubble makers !

what do you think guys?

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

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Just reverse engineer predetor drones that are coming thru in pipe line no one will notice 1 missing predetor