Something to think about:
Shahpar-I is powered by a 100hp Rotax 912 according to official specifications:
View attachment 797787
and a look at the aircraft's rear shows the engine taking up all of the space:
View attachment 797788
Now compare this to the rear end of Shahpar-II:
View attachment 797789
Shahpar-II is certainly much bigger, as we've already established, but look at how small the propeller cone looks relative to the airframe. Yes, the propeller disk is larger than Shahpar-I but you can see a lot of empty space in there. Furthermore, the airscoop is pretty large with an exhaust at the back. What I strongly suspect is that CURRENTLY Shahpar-II is being powered by the Rotax 912 from the Shahpar-I and that it has been designed with a larger engine in mind. This is speculation.
Furthermore, based on PAC's MALE's internal view here:
View attachment 797797
there is a section clearly designed for SATCOM but it is currently NOT installed. I believe the same is true for Shahpar-II. It is safe to assume that our SATCOM capability is not online yet. Therefore, Shahpar-II's (speculated) 100 hp engine isn't powering a SATCOM dish - and it probably can't. Yet another reason that I believe that Shahpar-II has been designed with a larger engine in mind.
Now the length and wingspan of this UAV is quite similar to TB-2. Furthermore, TB-2 is also powered by a 100hp engine, so it makes a natural comparison. Some specifications stick out:
| Length - Wingspan [m] | Engine Power [bhp] | Payload [kg] | Endurance
|
|---|
[TH]MTOW [kg][/TH]
[TR]
[TD]Shahpar-II[/TD]
[TD]6.2 - 9 to 12[/TD]
[TD]100[/TD]
[TD]120 + 50[/TD]
[TD]
14 (unarmed variant for best case)[/TD]
[TD]
850[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Bayraktar TB2[/TD]
[TD]6.5 - 12[/TD]
[TD]100[/TD]
[TD]150[/TD]
[TD]
27 (probably in clean configuration)[/TD]
[TD]
650[/TD]
[/TR]
The airframes are similar in size but Shahpar-II is a good 200 kg heavier and has HALF the endurance. You could put this out to very primitive airframe design but I doubt that that is the case here. I know that pretty advanced/contemporary techniques are used for Shahpar-II. What is more likely is that Shahpar-II is currently flying with an undersized (for it) engine.
All of this would explain:
1. Why Shahpar-II has such a low endurance - it has to operate near or at maximum setting throttle, making it fuel inefficient.
2. Why Shahpar-II has a high MTOW - for reason 1 it has to carry more fuel to achieve a half-decent endurance
The fact that 50 kg internal payload is listed for Shahpar-II is also interesting. Part of this might be used for the future SATCOM installation.
So don't be shocked if in a couple of years we see a Shahpar-IIA or Shahpar-III that is a reengined Shahpar-II with an actual SATCOM. This isn't any insider info - just an educated guess on my part
