China appears to have secretly sold Pakistan a large combat drone: report

ISLAMABAD: China appears to have secretly sold Pakistan a large combat drone, according to new satellite images. This was first pointed out by the Centre for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. Citing satellite images from November 2017, the Centre reported on January 5 that there was a medium-altitude long-endurance drone spotted at the Alam Air Base in Mianwali, Pakistan. “The drone in the image appears to be a Wing Loong I. This assessment is based on its wingspan -- which we believe to be around 14 meters -- and its V-tail, as well as a comparison with other satellite images of the Wing Loong I elsewhere in the world,” the Centre noted in its report. The report was later confirmed by IHS Jane’s, which cited different satellite images taken from the same time. The Wing Loong I is a strike-capable medium-altitude long-endurance drone built by the Chinese firm Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It has a length of nine metres and a wingspan of 14 metres. It can fly at heights of nearly 25,000 feet with a maximum speed of around 280 km/h and a range of 5,000 kilometres. According to IHS Jane's, it has a maximum take-off weight of 1,150 kilograms with a maximum payload capacity of 200kg. The payload is split fifty-fifty between internal and external weapon stores. It is considered to be China’s version of America’s Predator drone. The drone in Pakistan appears to have been deployed for testing purposes. As the Centre for the Study of the Drone’s analysis pointed out: “No drones or supporting equipment are visible in earlier satellite images of the base, suggesting that this drone may have arrived at Alam Air Base sometime in late November. The fact that there is no evidence of additional drones at the base, along with the fact that it is painted white -- not the battlefield gray like other, deployed Wing Loong drones -- might suggest that it is a test platform, not an operational airframe.” If so, this is probably not the first time that the Pakistan Air Force has been testing the Wing Loong I. In June 2016, a drone that appeared to be the Wing Loong I crashed near Alam Air Base apparently during a test run. Pakistan has been operating armed drones for a number of years now, likely with the assistance of China. Islamabad first acknowledged its strike drones in 2013, when the military released a statement saying it had developed two drones -- the Burraq and the Shahpar.