Government report reveals Pakistan’s progress on military acquisitions amid financial woes

[Cornered Tiger]

The continued upgrade of Type-59 main battle tanks to the Al-Zarrar version.

How many Type-59s are converted to Al-Zarrar standard by today? How many more Type-59s left in inventory?

Please provide the source of article in the end as well. Share the source now please. Thanks.

 

[Arsalan 345]

Good to hear this mystery weapons Al rasub and finally a plan to fit aesa in block 1.good steps.we need to get out of fatf.we are doing progress and it is impressive.

 

[Riz]

Good to hear this mystery weapons Al rasub and finally a plan to fit aesa in block 1.good steps.we need to get out of fatf.we are doing progress and it is impressive.

Teri har bat FATF par he end hoti ha... Bus kar do yaar khuda ka wasta ha..

 

[khanasifm]

we need to roll out Vipers in Thousands to give them to our soldiers on western Border .

No one is paying taxes, nations of crooks and corrupt leaders , economy in tank since 40 years and thousands rolls out ??

Day dreaming [emoji6]

Become economic power uplift people than one can afford such luxury

Cheers

 

[YeBeWarned]

No one is paying taxes, nations of crooks and corrupt leaders , economy in tank since 40 years and thousands rolls out ??

Day dreaming [emoji6]

Become economic power uplift people than one can afford such luxury

Cheers

Saving the lives of soldiers who are patrolling is not a luxury .. its a necessity

 

[khanasifm]

Saving the lives of soldiers who are patrolling is not a luxury .. its a necessity

With what? Cannot afford to do basic things and dreaming of saving life of soldiers with thin air ?? 1000s of ....

There is saying where I come from translation one is dying of hunger and the other is trying to cook next to him

 

[Thorough Pro]

A missile!

A new indigenous weapon??? Interesting name... What it would be @Quwa @Windjammer @The Eagle

 

[Syed1.]

Just by naming convention, it might not be a missile because our missiles are generally named after illustrious invaders of India and/or eagles or thunder.


The naming convention falls more in line with tanks or APVs, such as Al-Khalid, Al-Haider, Al-Zarrar etc....

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

Just by naming convention, it might not be a missile because our missiles are generally named after illustrious invaders of India and/or eagles or thunder.


The naming convention falls more in line with tanks or APVs, such as Al-Khalid, Al-Haider, Al-Zarrar etc....

A supersonic Missile is also in the works.

 

[Areesh]

Have they performed well in recent standoff: YES
Are they able to befittingly respond to aggression: YES
Is the enemy afraid of attacking: YES
Do we have confidence in our military to defend: YES

Yes there is room for improvement always but I was referring to the keyboard hypocrites who consider them self better experts than the actual men who risk their lives on a daily basis.

If having the best weapons meant being powerful the Saudi's would have been able to end their issue with Yemen in no time. Its about resolve and the ability to use what you have to its fullest when it is needed.

And what about the failure of our leadership in answering threats emerging inside the county?

PTM?
Gulalai Ismail getting to USA right under our nose?
Attacks by terrorists using Afghan soil on our soldiers and officers?

There are a lot of failures. Yes we did responded excellently to Indian aggression but India's own incompetency plays a huge part in it too.

 

[GreenLightning]

And what about the failure of our leadership in answering threats emerging inside the county?

PTM?
Gulalai Ismail getting to USA right under our nose?
Attacks by terrorists using Afghan soil on our soldiers and officers?

There are a lot of failures. Yes we did responded excellently to Indian aggression but India's own incompetency plays a huge part in it too.

We can't just go out and carry anti terror operations in Afghanistan. And the responsibility for PTM comes under the government, not the army. We are a democracy, not a military dictatorship.

NOPE .....

In its most probability this project is related to overhaul or upgrade of existing system under Aircraft Rebuild Factory (ARF)

I don't think that's the case, they wouldn't give such an important name to something like that.

 

[Philip the Arab]

@Bilal Khan (Quwa)


Do you think Viper will actually be inducted? Kornet would be much better than Konkurs of course so maybe that's why Pak bought them?

​

 

[Shabi1]

And what about the failure of our leadership in answering threats emerging inside the county?

PTM?
Gulalai Ismail getting to USA right under our nose?
Attacks by terrorists using Afghan soil on our soldiers and officers?

There are a lot of failures. Yes we did responded excellently to Indian aggression but India's own incompetency plays a huge part in it too.

Has PTM succeeded: No
Are the attacks from Afghan side decreasing: Yes

 

[khanasifm]

Government report reveals Pakistan’s progress on military acquisitions amid financial woes
By: Usman Ansari   12 hours ago

A Pakistani-made Al-Zarrar tank demonstrates its capability during a four-day international defense exhibition in Karachi on Nov. 22, 2006. (Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images)

ISLAMABAD — Despite its economic challenges, Pakistan has maintained progress on critical modernization programs to strengthen its conventional military forces, according to a recently revealed government document.

Spiraling debt and rising cost of imports along with low government revenue hit military modernization efforts hard. That, combined with an economic restructuring imposed by the International Monetary Fund as well as currency devaluation, increased the need for indigenous solutions.

Details of ongoing development, the replacement of foreign equipment as well as acquisition programs were recently released by the Ministry of Defence Production in its “Year Book 2017-18” document. The ministry oversees all aspects of state-owned military industrial enterprises, indigenous development programs and foreign acquisition.

The document highlights the prioritization of armored platforms and air power.

Efforts toward improving armored capabilities include finding substitutions to component imports and indigenous development, specifically:

• The manufacturing of auxiliary power units for the Al-Zarrar and T-80UD tanks.
• The development and trials of a sabot FSDS-T round.
• The development of a driver’s thermal imaging/night vision periscope.
• The assembly of engines for the Al-Khalid and T-80UD tanks.
• The rebuilding and upgrading of 160 Type-85IIAP main battle tanks between 2019-2020 and 2021-2022.
• A pilot effort to rebuild T-80UDs (completed in August 2019).
• The continued rebuilding of M113-series armored personnel carriers.
• The continued upgrade of Type-59 main battle tanks to the Al-Zarrar version.
• The low-rate production of 20 Al-Khalid I tanks, plus the final-stage development of the Al-Khalid II (featuring an enhanced power pack and fire-control/gun-control system).

A program for a tracked infantry fighting vehicle, or IFV, was also mentioned in the ministry’s document. State-owned armored fighting vehicle manufacturer HIT developed the Viper to meet this need. The static prototype was displayed at the IDEAS2018 defense expo. The platform was based on the M113 series, but was armed with a Slovak Turra 30 unmanned turret.

Armored fighting vehicle manufacturer HIT developed the Viper, on display here at the IDEAS2018 defense expo. (Usman Ansari/Staff)
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At IDEAS2018, China North Industries Group Corp., or NORINCO, told Defense News that its VT-4 main battle tank had essentially been selected to meet Pakistan’s requirement, but no deal has been signed.

Meanwhile, Pakistan bolstered its infantry anti-tank capabilities by purchasing Kornet-E anti-tank guided missiles (a Russian-made weapon) and Spanish Alcotán-100 shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets. However, financial expenditure information in the ministry’s document did not list acquisitions from Russia, indicating the Kornet-E may have come from an alternative source.

Author, analyst and former defense attaché to Islamabad Brian Cloughley told Defense News that emphasis on heavy armor indicates Pakistan’s “preparedness for conventional war, and it seems that the riposte is alive and being refined in direct answer to India’s overwhelming numerical superiority.”

Cloughley said the government may have realized the use of tactical nuclear weapons would spark an uncontrollable escalation, and so it is focusing on other capabilities. However, “this by no means indicates that tactical nuclear [surface-to-surface missiles] are not a most important asset — simply that Pakistan has been considering all options and appears to have concluded it had better maintain and develop conventional forces, concentrating on armor,” he added.



India’s new defense budget falls way short for modernization plans
The majority of funds will go towards past committed liabilities for Rafale fighters, S-400 missile systems, warships and helicopters.

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi
Defense from above

Air power developments discussed in the ministry’s document primarily center on the JF-17 fighter program. A deal was signed for the twin-seat and advanced Block III variants in May 2018.

However, improvements to the preceding versions are ongoing, notably air-to-air refueling modification and the acquisition of Chinese CM-400AKG supersonic anti-ship missiles to strengthen seaward defenses.

Author, analyst and former Pakistan Air Force pilot Kaiser Tufail pointed to these efforts as significant for the military.

“Speed confers not only a higher kill probability on an anti-ship missile due to greater momentum on impact; it also enhances its own survivability against close-in weapons that are fired against it. Thus, a supersonic missile like the CM-400AKG is definitely an improvement over the subsonic predecessors,” he said.

“A flight of JF-17s configured with a single missile each, along with underwing drop tanks, offer sufficient range to keep any hostile surface task force at bay,” he added.


Newer air-to-air missiles are reportedly being integrated, but when asked to comment on the possibility that more advanced standoff weaponry may follow, Tufail said: “Standoff bombing is the new attack norm, as demonstrated by the [Feb. 27] riposte by [the Pakistan Air Force] in reply to [the Indian Air Force’s] unsuccessful attempt a day earlier. Bombs like the GB-6 K/YBS500, REK Mark 82/83/84 and H-4 will, therefore, be commonplace weapons in any future conflict.”

He also highlighted increased JF-17 production, “from 16 aircraft per year to 24,” which he said will likely continue as the the active electronically scanned array radar-equipped Block III in produced, especially if there’s an increase in exports.

Improvements to existing JF-17s, such as the “retrofit of AESA radars on existing Block I and II JF-17s could take place later, once the priority Block III orders have been completed,” he added.

A Pakistani JF-17 Thunder performs a flying display at the Paris Air Show on June 17, 2019, at Le Bourget Airport, near Paris. (Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images)
The Ministry of Defence Production’s report also mentioned the manufacturing of components for an “Al-Rasub” (the name of a sword of the Prophet Muhammad, implying it could be a weapon). However, no source approached by Defense News for clarification could or would comment.


The development of drones by the Aviation Design Institute and of the Project AZM fifth-generation fighter were also mentioned in the report.

A medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV program was previously under discussion, according to industry officials, but the head of UAV-manufacturer Integrated Dynamics, Raja Khan, was unable to shed light on whether the drone development mentioned in the report and slated to have flown by June 2019 was related.

The report said the first “conceptual design phase” cycle for Project AZM is complete, and the first configuration “will go through three more cycles within the conceptual design using higher fidelity analysis tools and codes.” While some speculate the country might work with Turkey on the project, there is no mention of a foreign partner in the report.

Justin Bronk, an aerospace expert with the Royal United Services Institute think tanks, said there is effectively only one option for a foreign partnership.

“I’d assess that neither Pakistan nor, indeed, Turkey have the necessary domestic industrial capabilities to design and manufacture a true fifth-generation fighter for the foreseeable future,” he said. “With that in mind, Pakistan’s fifth-generation ambitions will have to de facto be met by Chinese technology, even if at least partly manufactured in Pakistan.”

Because of its size and lower wingspan cm-400 can be carried on centerline station of jf whole two droptanks under the wing unlike c-803 which can only be carried underwing and joy centerline due to larger wingspan ??

Basing on Kasir tufail statement ??