Pakistan showcased its Shahpar-II indigenous combat UAV at the 11th edition of its biennial arms exhibition, the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS 2022) which took place in Karachi from Nov 15-18. The Shahpar ll is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) built by Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS) of Pakistan. It was first launched in 2021 and is currently under production.[1] Pakistan’s advancement in drone technology is not only a step towards the indigenisation of its defence capabilities but also reflects the increasingly important role played by drones in modern warfare – both on the battlefield and outside of it.
Shahpar is a medium-range tactical UAV System with autonomous take-off and landing capabilities. It is capable of carrying payloads for reconnaissance and day and night surveillance. Targets on the ground can be geo-referenced and geo-pointed by the avionics. It has two external points that carry a laser which can carry guided weapons, AGMs 60 kg each.[2] Shahpar-II drone has demonstrated firing Barq laser-guided missile on moving and still targets with high accuracy. Barq is a laser-guided air-to-surface missile developed by Pakistan with a range of 8 km and a weight of 45 kilograms.
