*BEIJING – China and Pakistan have inked the largest ever military dronesdeal, media report has revealed.*
*Pakistan will import 48 Chinese drones in what a Chinese military observersaid must be the largest such arms deal of its kind, the state-run GlobalTimes newspaper reported.*
Announcing the deal on its official Facebook account on Sunday, thePakistan Air Force’s Sherdils Aerobatic Team did not reveal how much it wasworth, when it was struck or when the Wing Loong IIs will be delivered, thereport added.
But the air force academy aerobatics team announced that in the future thePakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra and the Aviation Industry Corporationof China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company will jointlymanufacture the drones.
Wing Loong II, made by Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company, is ahigh-end reconnaissance and strike multi-role endurance unmanned aircraftsystem.
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It made its maiden flight in February last year, the Xinhua News Agencyreported.
The largest overseas order for Wing Loong IIs was obtained even before themaiden flight, Xinhua reported. The report did not specify the buyer.
A deal involving as many as 48 Wing Loong IIs, if confirmed, would beChina’s largest export deal for drones to date, Song Zhongping, a militaryexpert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday.
