ISLAMABAD – Pakistan China rising military ties have been a matter ofconcern for foreign players in recent days.
Sometimes rumours regarding military bases of China in Pakistan, whichIslamabad has shunned repeatedly are floated, or sometimes it is claimedthat Shapar and the Burraq – Pakistan made unarmed aerial vehicle – havebeen provided by Beijing, casting doubt on Pakistan’s ability toindigenously produce armed drones.
This time another claim has surfaced that China appears to have secretlysold Pakistan a large multi-role combat drone that can allow Pakistan tocarry out longer and more complex missions.
The claim was made after the Center for the Study of the Drone at BardCollege link>, citingsatellite images from November 2017, said that a medium-altitudelong-endurance drone has been spotted at the Alam Air Base in Mianwali,Pakistan.
In a report published on Jan 5 by the Center, “The drone in the imageappears to be a Wing Loong I. This assessment is based on itswingspan—which we believe to be around 14 meters— and its V-tail, as wellas a comparison with other satellite images of the Wing Loong I elsewherein the world. No drones or supporting equipment are visible in earliersatellite images of the base, suggesting that this drone may have arrivedat Alam Air Base sometime in late November”.
The Center said that drone might have been deployed in Pakistan for testpurposes, not an operational airframe. It adds, “This would not be thefirst time that a Wing Loong prototype has been sent to Mianwali; a dronethat appeared to be a Wing Loong I crashed during an experimental testflight near Mianwali in June 2016”.
The acquisition of a heavier multi-role drone like the Wing Loong I wouldallow Pakistan to carry out longer and more complex missions than it canwith its current fleet of unmanned systems.
However, there is no official statement from Pakistani authoritiesregarding the fresh claims.
Pakistan military in 2013, announced that it had developed a indigenousmid-sized surveillance drone – Shahpar, which entered into service duringthe same year, In 2015, Pakistan also unveiled Burraq, a mid-sizedstrike-capable drone. The world players at that time also claimed that thedrones are Chinese UAVs or developed on Chinese technology.