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Pakistani Baktar Shikan in Bosnia
one of major deal for mashaq
PESHAWAR: Riyadh may buy $40m Super Mashaq
By Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Aug 8: Pakistan may export $40 million Super Mashaq training aircraft to Saudi Arabia.
“Pakistan is likely to get contracts to export Super Mashaq training aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Oman,” said Air Commodore Pervez Saadiq, Member (commercial) of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, while making a presentation on the topic of “Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in collaboration with private sector” at a seminar entitled “Opportunities for SMEs in defence equipment manufacturing” here on Friday.
He told the participants of the seminar that the total value of the training aircraft likely to be exported to Saudi Arabia comes to $40m.
Later, he told Dawn that Pakistan was close to formally signing the deal with Riyadh to export Super Mashaq aircraft indigenously built at PAC, Kamra.
Apart from exporting the training aircraft to Oman and Saudi Arabia, he said while making the presentation, Islamabad, PAC was already in the process of negotiating export deals with some six countries to provide them PAC’s indigenously built products.
The likely export deal with Saudi Arabia would come in addition to a similar contract under which Riyadh was provided drones.
He said his organization was taking care of the repair and maintenance of the aircraft and other equipments of the Pakistan Air Force.
“Hundred percent repair and maintenance of PAF’s jets and equipment is being done at the PAC, Kamra making huge savings for the country,” said Air Commodore Saadiq.
He explained the history, activities and functioning of PAC in addition to its role in contributing to the country’s exports and promoting local vendors involved in manufacturing defence related equipments.
He also dwelt at length on different products and systems being indigenously built by the PAC, Kamra and their performance particularly the Audio Video Tape Recording System installed in the fighter jets to monitor flight operations.
Earlier, Air Commodore Masood Malik, member policy, planning and development of the Defence Export Promotion Organization (Depo) in his presentation on “contribution of private sector in defence export” said that Pakistan’s public and private sector involved in defence equipment manufacturing stood great prospects to capture due share in the international market.
Pakistan’s defence exports stood at about $100m in the last financial year getting improved from $50m two years back, he added.
Mr Malik said that the country could easily lift its defence exports to $250m even if it managed to take only one per cent of the total volume of the defence exports recorded in the region.
Replying to a question he said that Pakistan’s defence sector’s exports were higher than those recorded by India last year.
India’s defence exports, he claimed, stood at around $60m last year against.
Depo, he added, was concentrating to export non-traditional products to the traditional markets. Briefly touching upon certain defence export deals he said air launched weapon system was being exported to Sri Lanka. In addition to that, he added, Pakistan’s public and private sector involved in defence equipment manufacturing was exporting certain other items to six different countries.
Apart from the vintage and sporting guns manufactured at the tribal town of Darra Adamkhel, Pakistan is also exporting uniforms to certain Middle Eastern countries. According to him, certain other countries, too, had recently shown interest in Pakistani defence equipment.
Earlier, he told newsmen that country’s defence equipment manufacturing sector was improving and was eying to improve the level of its exports to the Middle East and concentrate more on the markets of Africa.
Attaching extra importance to the country’s private sector involved in defence equipment manufacturing, Mr Malik said that the defence export strategy (of Depo) could not complete without involving the private sector.
