Windjammer
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Drone Bases Updates
January 5, 2018
Mianwali, Pakistan
32°33’47N 71°34’15″E
January 5, 2018
By Dan Gettinger
A November 24, 2017 satellite image of PAF Base M.M. Alam in Mianwali, Pakistan shows what appears to be a medium-altitude long-endurance drone, possibly a Chinese CAIG Wing Loong I. In the image, which is accessible at TerraServer, the aircraft is parked outside a hangar near the center of the base. It is the first sign in 18 months of Pakistan’s efforts to acquire armed drones from China.
The drone in the image appears to be a Wing Loong I. This assessment is based on its wingspan—which we believe to be around 14 meters— and its V-tail, as well as a comparison with other satellite images of the Wing Loong I elsewhere in the world. No drones or supporting equipment are visible in earlier satellite images of the base, suggesting that this drone may have arrived at Alam Air Base sometime in late November. The fact that there is no evidence of additional drones at the base, along with the fact that it is painted white—not the battlefield gray like other, deployed Wing Loong drones—might suggest that it is a test platform, not an operational airframe. This would not be the first time that a Wing Loong prototype has been sent to Mianwali; a drone that appeared to be a Wing Loong I crashed during an experimental test flight near Mianwali in June 2016.
A Falco at PAF Mushaf
Pakistan has long expressed an interest in acquiring highly capable drones. It has deployed a small fleet of Falco mid-sized surveillance drones, which is produced in collaboration with Italian defense firm Leonardo, to PAF Mushaf, an air base around 115 kilometers southeast of PAF Mianwali. Pakistan’s Air Force also operates an indigenous mid-sized surveillance drone, the GIDS Shahpar, which entered into service in 2013. In 2015, the armed forces unveiled the Burraq, a mid-sized strike-capable drone closely based on China’s CASC CH-3A. The acquisition of a heavier multi-role drone like the Wing Loong I would allow Pakistan to carry out longer and more complex missions than it can with its current fleet of unmanned systems. In July 2017, Pakistan’s Aviation Design Institute announced that it was working on a medium-altitude long-endurance drone, though it will be several years until that system is ready for deployment.
China is an active exporter of strike-capable drones to countries around the world and has had a long-running interest in developing new unmanned systems. (Some of these exports were first revealed in previous drone bases updates). In December, China announced that it had successfully delivered its first Wing Loong II drones, a larger variant of the Wing Loong I, to an unnamed foreign customer. The PLA has also deployed a number of Wing Loong Is—known domestically as GJ-1—within China.
January 5, 2018
Mianwali, Pakistan
32°33’47N 71°34’15″E
January 5, 2018
By Dan Gettinger
A November 24, 2017 satellite image of PAF Base M.M. Alam in Mianwali, Pakistan shows what appears to be a medium-altitude long-endurance drone, possibly a Chinese CAIG Wing Loong I. In the image, which is accessible at TerraServer, the aircraft is parked outside a hangar near the center of the base. It is the first sign in 18 months of Pakistan’s efforts to acquire armed drones from China.
The drone in the image appears to be a Wing Loong I. This assessment is based on its wingspan—which we believe to be around 14 meters— and its V-tail, as well as a comparison with other satellite images of the Wing Loong I elsewhere in the world. No drones or supporting equipment are visible in earlier satellite images of the base, suggesting that this drone may have arrived at Alam Air Base sometime in late November. The fact that there is no evidence of additional drones at the base, along with the fact that it is painted white—not the battlefield gray like other, deployed Wing Loong drones—might suggest that it is a test platform, not an operational airframe. This would not be the first time that a Wing Loong prototype has been sent to Mianwali; a drone that appeared to be a Wing Loong I crashed during an experimental test flight near Mianwali in June 2016.
A Falco at PAF Mushaf
Pakistan has long expressed an interest in acquiring highly capable drones. It has deployed a small fleet of Falco mid-sized surveillance drones, which is produced in collaboration with Italian defense firm Leonardo, to PAF Mushaf, an air base around 115 kilometers southeast of PAF Mianwali. Pakistan’s Air Force also operates an indigenous mid-sized surveillance drone, the GIDS Shahpar, which entered into service in 2013. In 2015, the armed forces unveiled the Burraq, a mid-sized strike-capable drone closely based on China’s CASC CH-3A. The acquisition of a heavier multi-role drone like the Wing Loong I would allow Pakistan to carry out longer and more complex missions than it can with its current fleet of unmanned systems. In July 2017, Pakistan’s Aviation Design Institute announced that it was working on a medium-altitude long-endurance drone, though it will be several years until that system is ready for deployment.
China is an active exporter of strike-capable drones to countries around the world and has had a long-running interest in developing new unmanned systems. (Some of these exports were first revealed in previous drone bases updates). In December, China announced that it had successfully delivered its first Wing Loong II drones, a larger variant of the Wing Loong I, to an unnamed foreign customer. The PLA has also deployed a number of Wing Loong Is—known domestically as GJ-1—within China.
, even USA doesn't have this capability so far, drones/UCAV are basically unmanned strike/CAS AIRCRAFT
