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ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's military industry has been steadily expanding the range and complexity of electronic products, components and subsystems it produces, especially related to the UAV sector.
The military privately admits India had a clear edge in UAV operations during the last major Indo-Pak stand-off in 2002. Indian forces had a larger number, and wider range, of UAVs available for battlefield surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Consequently, all three Pakistani military branches have sought to rectify this shortcoming. The Army has considerably increased its UAV inventory; the Air Force has formed two UAV squadrons (with the intention of fielding up to six); and the Navy tested the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 rotary UAV from a frigate in March.
Although no selection has been made, a Navy spokesman said avenues for shipboard UAV operations were still being explored.
This does not appear to involve any domestic UAV producers, but much investment has been poured into domestic programs and the fruits of this are becoming evident both at home and abroad.
One of the companies at the forefront of this development is East West Infinity (EWI). EWI's latest products are the Heliquad micro tactical UAV and the Whisper Watch signals intelligence (SIGINT) package.
SIGINT has become more important with constant anti-terrorism operations on the frontier and in the tribal areas.
Finding Sophisticated Terrorists
Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters use not just mobile and satellite phones for communication, but also sophisticated military radios. SIGINT is therefore essential to locate the high-ranking terrorists driving operations.
According to Haroon Javed Qureshi, EWI's managing director, though UAV-mountable, "Whisper Watch is most effective when aerostat-mounted, as the platform is stationary and airborne for longer."
Designed for militaries unable to afford high-end, dedicated SIGINT platforms, Whisper Watch can detect and monitor electronic emissions up to 250 kilometers away and then retransmit to a ground station located out of harm's way.
The Heliquad was first displayed in prototype form at the IDEAS2006 defense exhibition. Equipped with a tiny camera, it can relay pictures back to troops or special forces in an urban environment or in the field, giving them a tactical recon ability.
Being exceptionally small and powered by four electric motors, it is highly stealthy and represents the cutting edge of EWI's electronics miniaturization.
Both products will be displayed in their current configuration for the first time at IDEAS2008 later this month.
Karachi-based Integrated Dynamics (ID) has also made a name for itself, not only for exporting its Border Eagle Mk-II UAV to the United States for border patrol duties, but also by exporting UAVs and related subsystems to Australia, Italy, Spain and others, CEO Raja Khan said.
A prolific designer and manufacturer of a wide range of UAV systems, ID has constantly pushed the boundaries of indigenous technology. This has resulted in very compact UAVs such as the 5-kilogram, hand-launched Rover and specialized decoys such as the Tornado.
The Rover is somewhat of a replacement for ID's Desert Hawk, which has been sold to a government agency. It is ID's smallest product, and has benefited extensively from ID's research into electronics miniaturization.
Its optical payload is a more advanced derivative of ID's smallest and lightest - less than 1 kilogram - gyro-stabilized payload, the infrared/low-light GSP-100 camera. Powered by a noiseless electric motor, Rover operates up to 1,000 feet and relays signals from its Pan/Tilt/Zoom camera via a telemetry data link. It has an endurance of an hour.
Though marketed for civilian use, such as news gathering and scientific research, its diminutive size and acoustic stealth mean it is just as useful for military operators.
The Tornado, however, is a turbojet-powered expendable decoy. Programmed to simulate an actual fighter aircraft, and with a range of 200 kilometers, it is loaded with flares and radar enhancement devices manufactured by ID. They emit false radar signals and electronic emissions to confuse enemy air defenses into thinking they are attacking aircraft.
While they are understandably shrouded in secrecy, they reflect Pakistan's increasing concerns over countering enemy air defenses, especially because it has a limited number of combat aircraft in comparison to archrival India. ■
Pakistan Puts UAVs at Center of Technology Effort - Defense News
The military privately admits India had a clear edge in UAV operations during the last major Indo-Pak stand-off in 2002. Indian forces had a larger number, and wider range, of UAVs available for battlefield surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Consequently, all three Pakistani military branches have sought to rectify this shortcoming. The Army has considerably increased its UAV inventory; the Air Force has formed two UAV squadrons (with the intention of fielding up to six); and the Navy tested the Schiebel Camcopter S-100 rotary UAV from a frigate in March.
Although no selection has been made, a Navy spokesman said avenues for shipboard UAV operations were still being explored.
This does not appear to involve any domestic UAV producers, but much investment has been poured into domestic programs and the fruits of this are becoming evident both at home and abroad.
One of the companies at the forefront of this development is East West Infinity (EWI). EWI's latest products are the Heliquad micro tactical UAV and the Whisper Watch signals intelligence (SIGINT) package.
SIGINT has become more important with constant anti-terrorism operations on the frontier and in the tribal areas.
Finding Sophisticated Terrorists
Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters use not just mobile and satellite phones for communication, but also sophisticated military radios. SIGINT is therefore essential to locate the high-ranking terrorists driving operations.
According to Haroon Javed Qureshi, EWI's managing director, though UAV-mountable, "Whisper Watch is most effective when aerostat-mounted, as the platform is stationary and airborne for longer."
Designed for militaries unable to afford high-end, dedicated SIGINT platforms, Whisper Watch can detect and monitor electronic emissions up to 250 kilometers away and then retransmit to a ground station located out of harm's way.
The Heliquad was first displayed in prototype form at the IDEAS2006 defense exhibition. Equipped with a tiny camera, it can relay pictures back to troops or special forces in an urban environment or in the field, giving them a tactical recon ability.
Being exceptionally small and powered by four electric motors, it is highly stealthy and represents the cutting edge of EWI's electronics miniaturization.
Both products will be displayed in their current configuration for the first time at IDEAS2008 later this month.
Karachi-based Integrated Dynamics (ID) has also made a name for itself, not only for exporting its Border Eagle Mk-II UAV to the United States for border patrol duties, but also by exporting UAVs and related subsystems to Australia, Italy, Spain and others, CEO Raja Khan said.
A prolific designer and manufacturer of a wide range of UAV systems, ID has constantly pushed the boundaries of indigenous technology. This has resulted in very compact UAVs such as the 5-kilogram, hand-launched Rover and specialized decoys such as the Tornado.
The Rover is somewhat of a replacement for ID's Desert Hawk, which has been sold to a government agency. It is ID's smallest product, and has benefited extensively from ID's research into electronics miniaturization.
Its optical payload is a more advanced derivative of ID's smallest and lightest - less than 1 kilogram - gyro-stabilized payload, the infrared/low-light GSP-100 camera. Powered by a noiseless electric motor, Rover operates up to 1,000 feet and relays signals from its Pan/Tilt/Zoom camera via a telemetry data link. It has an endurance of an hour.
Though marketed for civilian use, such as news gathering and scientific research, its diminutive size and acoustic stealth mean it is just as useful for military operators.
The Tornado, however, is a turbojet-powered expendable decoy. Programmed to simulate an actual fighter aircraft, and with a range of 200 kilometers, it is loaded with flares and radar enhancement devices manufactured by ID. They emit false radar signals and electronic emissions to confuse enemy air defenses into thinking they are attacking aircraft.
While they are understandably shrouded in secrecy, they reflect Pakistan's increasing concerns over countering enemy air defenses, especially because it has a limited number of combat aircraft in comparison to archrival India. ■
Pakistan Puts UAVs at Center of Technology Effort - Defense News
