Shahpar-II UAV: Pakistan

Shahpar-II is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), designed and manufactured by Pakistan’s state-owned aerospace firm “GIDS”. According to GIDS, Shahpar-II is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance that has a flying endurance of 14 hours and operates at an altitude of 20, 000 ft. This UAV is the updated version of the Shahpar-I UAV, which is also designed by Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS). Now, there is also an armed version of Sahpar-II, Which can carry a payload of 60 kg under each wing and can fly for 7 hours. In this article, we will talk about an unarmed variant of the Shahpar-II UAV.

Read More: Military Drones in Africa: The New Arms Race

It has a modular airframe structural design comprising of advanced composite and metallic hybrid structure with an improved aerodynamic design. Some of the notable features of the Shahpar system include its autonomous take-off and landing system, a robust autopilot scheme, user-friendly and comprehensive mission planning, and management software suite, reliable data links, and the capability of integrating various types of EO payloads.

Shahpar-II UAV is primarily for target acquisition, surveillance, relief, and rescue work during disaster, reconnaissance, and spying.

Specifications: 

• Endurance: 14 hours
• Data Link Range: 300 kilometers (LoS), 1050 Kilometers (BLoS)
• Height Ceiling: 20,000 ft
• Take-off speed: 80 knots

GIDS also manufactured an attack variant of the Shahpar-II drone. An armed version of Shahpar-II is capable of carrying a load of 60kg under each wing. moreover, this Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) can also be armed with 3rd party munitions such as Turkish-origin MAM-C and MAM-L. The armed Shahpar-II UCAV has a cruising speed of 80-85 knots with an operational flight altitude of 18,000 feet and 7 hours of flight time.