UAVs from Pakistan6
By: David Donald
Published: 21 Feb 2013
Having been previously shown at the IDEAS exhibition in Karachi, a number of UAVs from Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS) are making their first international appearances as part of IDEXs Unmanned Systems Area (U-006).
GIDS is exhibiting five UAV designs, ranging in size from the hand-launched Scout to the 6.6m span Shahpar.
GIDS has developed all the systems for the medium-range tactical Shahpar, with the exception of its Rotax 912 engine. The suite of indigenous systems includes the fully autonomous control system and the Zumr-I (EP) multisensor turret. The vehicle has a 50kg payload capability, and an endurance of more than seven hours. The Shahpar has completed its test and qualification phase, and is now in production for the Pakistan Army and Air Force.
The smaller Uqab tactical UAV, part of a family developed by the Xpert division of GIDS, has been in service with the Pakistan Army and Navy since 2010.
Its 50hp engine gives it a ceiling of 3,000m and an endurance of six hours. Uqab takes off on a wheeled undercarriage from conventional runways, but the Pakistan Navy had a requirement for a zero-length launch version, primarily for shipboard use. GIDS modified the Uqab to cater for a rocket-boosted launch and parachute recovery, resulting in the Huma that is undergoing trials now. GIDS is showing two man-portable systems. The 8kg Sentry can be wheel- or rail-launched, and comes in two versions. With a small petrol engine, the long-range model can fly more than an hour, while the short-range model is powered by a brushless electric motor, giving it about 45 minutes of silent operation. Also on display is the 4kg Scout, a hand- or catapult-launched mini-UAV that gives 45 minutes endurance from its electric motor before recovering near-vertically by entering a deep stall. Trials of the Scout by the Army are nearly complete and it is now in the process of service induction.
The company has also developed a range extension kit for GP series bombs, which converts general-purpose steel bombs to guided weapons.
