Pakistan readies production of UAVs

[A.Rafay]

KARACHI, Pakistan Defense Minister Syed Naveed Qamar said Pakistan intends to build unmanned aerial vehicles.

Qamar made the statement in discussions with Pakistani media, the News International reported Thursday.

Pakistan's indigenous UAV industry is centered on the state-owned defense enterprise Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, east of Islamabad.

PAC has begun manufacturing Falco UAVs in collaboration with the Italian company Selex Galileo. While initially the Falco UAV system is designed purely for aerial reconnaissance and information gathering, PAC intends the vehicles eventually to be upgraded to be equipped with weapon systems to carry out offensive operations, similar to U.S. UAVs.

Pakistan originally wanted to buy UAVs from the United States but Islamabad was rebuffed in its requests, leading PAC to attempt to develop an indigenous variant. However, technical issues have slowed development of the Pakistani program.

Pakistan's aviation firms have been involved in manufacturing smaller UAVs for years, with Pakistan's Integrated Dynamics firm producing small UAVs for the government and commercial market since 1997.

Other Pakistani companies working on UAV issues include Surveillance and Target Unmanned Aircraft (Satuma) and East West Infiniti, while state-owned aviation firms produce UAVs include the Air Weapons Complex National Development Complex as well as the PAC.

But the PAC complex is the main driver behind Pakistan's UAV development. The massive PAC facility, the world's seventh largest assembly plant, is in Kamra in Punjab province, and assembles and manufactures aircraft for Pakistan's armed forces.

"PAC has acquired the capability to produce Falco XN UAV in collaboration with Selex Galileo (SG) of Italy," PAC's website states. "The UAV is a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV designed for area reconnaissance and point surveillance.

"It has the capability to reveal targets of interest, classify them, calculate their coordinates and determine the distances between them."

In describing the Falco XN UAV, the website added: "The UAV has a high-wing monoplane connected to the central fuselage. The wing assembly is equipped with flapperons to control the lift and lateral dynamics. Tail-planes comprising two rudders and two elevators provide control for directional and longitudinal dynamics and are connected to the wing assembly through the tail-booms. ...

"The payload is mounted on the stabilized platform of the UAV and is managed through an advance Payload Management System and an Electro-Optical suite. The Electro-Optical suite includes E/O Camera, IR sensors, Thermal Imaging Systems, Laser Designator and a Surveillance Radar."

While the PAC website makes no mention of possible exports plans for the Falco XN UAV's it nevertheless touts the UAV's characteristics, noting that it is "capable of carrying wide variety of payloads; easily adaptable to meet mission requirements," has an "effective guidance and control system, suitable for both civil and military roles, mission pre-planning, re-tasking, simulation, rehearsal, and play back" and "can be flown in manual and automatic modes."



Pakistan readies production of UAVs - UPI.com

 

[Safriz]

Selex is one hell of a company manufacturing very advanced military hardware..Lets see how far this cooperation goes.....
Just uploaded their blubber in this thread..a glimpse of what they got in store.
http://www.defence.pk/forums/senior...ledge-base-reference-library.html#post3514052

 

[mosu]

hmmmm good news we need unmanned aerial vehicles. very badly

 

[Arsalan]

Pakistan need to learn what they don't have from such JV projects and help out the private sector firms!
This is a good sign that lots of private sector organizations are working in this field. This is where competition results in better products. Also there is lesser load on Gov and things are being managed by private firms, creating job and delivering goods!
UAV is perhaps one of the Major Military Hardware in which most numbers of private sector firms are involved.
Hope full as there business grow, the products will improve, because, its not there JOB, its there BUSINESS!

 

[Safriz]

Galileo has developed the long-span Falco EVO version to answer
demands for longer endurance and more payload. October 26, 2012, 11:45 AM In the last few days Selex Galileo has flight-tested its Falco UAV for the first time with the company’s Gabbiano T20N radar installed. Typically
the Falco carries the Selex Galileo PicoSAR multi-mode AESA radar in
the nose, but the Gabbiano provides an option giving enhanced
maritime capability. The installation of the Gabbiano has entailed a
redesign and enlargement of the nose profile, aerodynamically tested
previously, but only recently has the sensor been installed for flight. The company notes that it has also integrated government-furnished
equipment from other sensor manufacturers with the Falco to meet
individual customer requirements. Selex Galileo is building Falcos at the rate of approximately one per
month at its Ronchi dei Legionari facility, which also produces the
Mirach 100 target and a range of mini/micro UAVs. Production rate can
be at least doubled, if required. The company is currently completing
the 40th production Falco. Whether that number includes aircraft from
a co-production program undertaken with the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra is unclear. While Pakistan openly acknowledges this activity, Selex Galileo does
not name its customers. However, it has noted the existence of a co-
production program of “significant numbers” and that it involves a
transfer of production/assembly capabilities to the overseas site. That
process has advanced to a stage where Selex Galileo is supporting its
partner to produce parts locally. Three other overseas nations have also bought the Falco, and Selex
Galileo hopes to announce that it has firmed up a fifth customer in the
first half of next year. As well as direct sales, the company also
revealed that it has been operating Falcos since last year on service
provision contracts. While the company would not be drawn on
customer(s) for these services, it characterized them as either a means of fulfilling urgent operational Istar requirements, or as a means of
evaluating the Falco as a prelude to a potential acquisition. Meanwhile, Selex Galileo is currently involved in the second flight-test
campaign for the Falco EVO, a derivative with longer-span wings and
longer tail boom that uses the same fuselage and systems as the
baseline aircraft. The prototype Falco EVO made its first flight in July
this year from the company’s test site at Cheshnegirovo air base in
Bulgaria, completing initial trials in September. This location has been used for several Falco trials, and offers a permissive environment for
the testing of UAVs. A second modification kit for producing an EVO
vehicle is now under construction, and a third trials campaign is
planned for March/April next year. This will include customer
demonstrations.

 

[Edevelop]

I heard that Falco UAV can be transformed to have a hardpoint or two. Does that mean it allows for weapon carrying or does that mean it will be just for surveillance ?

 

[Safriz]

According to above report Selex has done TOT for PAC kamra and they can produce most if the parts for Falco locally.
With the addition of AESA radar,Kamra will have experience in thus trchnology too.

I heard that Falco UAV can be transformed to have a hardpoint or two. Does that mean it allows for weapon carrying or does that mean it will be just for surveillance ?

It is a surveilance UAV so the hard points may be for pods....

 

[XYON]

FALCO UAV or any of its likely variants is not a suitable UAV to be turned into a UCAV for various reasons. First, its wing design cannot support the weight of having two optical or wire guided missiles like perhaps the Baktar Shikan (other options are even heavier). Second, a much more power engine is required to off-set the take off weight with the heavy missiles.Third, developing targeting pod capability requires hundreds of experimentation flights to take out kinks in the system and that requires essentially millions of dollars which unfortunately neither PAC nor PAF has at this stage. Fourth, it is a current trend in the forces to depute officers who are essentially redundant from operational duties into UAV squadrons. Most of these officers have a pathetic eye-to-hand coordination, zero training in video gaming and in thinking or visualizing in 4 dimensions in order to fly a UAV system. This is the reasons why PAF has had multiple crashes of the FALCO UAV over the last few years! Unless the Armed Forces change their mindset and operational strategy to give priority to UAV operations in terms of allocating the best resources and human capital, the above unfortunately will simply remain political news appearing in this or that newspaper!

 

[Jango]

zero training in video gaming and in thinking or visualizing in 4 dimensions in order to fly a UAV system.

Let's get some 25 year boys a couple of years later to pilot drones!!! (seriously)

 

[[--Leo--]]

the picture of FalcoEvo

 

[Safriz]

does any buddy have the picture of Falcon Evo please post it

Falcon evo?
Whats that?

 

[[--Leo--]]

Falcon evo?
Whats that?

Sorry its Falco Evo

SELEX Galileo Falco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Upgraded version of Falco

 

[Safriz]

www.defence.pk/forums/seniors-cafe/214072-pdf-knowledge-base-reference-library.html#post3514052

Look into this thread,you may find pictures and material on Falco.

 

[Gessler]

Any news about Shahpar UAV, the copy of Rustom-1?

 

[SEAL]

Any news about Shahpar UAV, the copy of Rustom-1?

Here it is..Thanks v9s

Hopefully better pictures will come in few days.