ISLAMABAD (Agencies): Pakistan’s defense conglomerate, Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS), showcased new missiles and a combat drone at Turkey’s IDEF defense conference, held from July 25-28.
The exhibited products included the Faaz-RF and Faaz-IIR medium-range, air-to-air missiles, and the Shahpar III medium-altitude, long-endurance combat drone. However, it should be noted that the displayed Faaz missiles and drone were mockups, according to GIDS CEO Asad Kamal.
The Faaz-RF is an active radar-guided missile, while the Faaz-IIR features an imaging infrared seeker. Both missiles have an impressive range exceeding 100 kilometers (62 miles), can reach speeds of Mach 3.5, and operate at altitudes of 6,000 feet above sea level. The Faaz-RF’s seeker has a detection range of 25 kilometers, while the Faaz-IIR can detect targets up to 40 kilometers away.
The design of the Faaz missiles appears to be partly inspired by the Chinese SD-10/PL-12 weapon, which is produced under license by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex. However, GIDS claims that its products are locally developed, and the company owns the intellectual property rights.
As for the Shahpar III drone, it falls under the Group 4+ category, capable of carrying weapons with a weight exceeding 1,320 pounds. The drone boasts six hardpoints for up to 530 kilograms (1,168 pounds) of disposable stores, a maximum takeoff weight of 1,650 kilograms, and various sensor options, including electro-optical/infrared, synthetic aperture radar, communications intelligence, and signals intelligence.
The Shahpar III drone comes with different engine configurations of 140 horsepower and 170 horsepower, offering respective line-of-sight ranges of 300 kilometers and beyond line-of-sight ranges of 3,000 kilometers. The drone’s endurance varies depending on the configuration, with the 140-horsepower option offering 24 hours when rigged for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and 17 hours when armed. The 170-horsepower variant provides 40 hours of endurance when rigged for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions and 35 hours when armed. Additionally, the drone can operate at altitudes of up to 41,000 feet.
GIDS did not disclose the origin of the drone’s engines, but the Shahpar III is expected to be available for export next year after completing in-house trials.