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The crash of one of the Wing Loong I drones during a test flight near Mianwali in June 2016 does not seem to have cooled the Pakistan army on the possible acquisition of this family of Chinese military drones. And as proof, we learn that the country has signed an agreement to co-produce 48 Wing Loong II drones with a subsidiary of the Chinese manufacturer AVIC.
According to the Sherdils Facebook account - the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) acrobatic team - the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra and the AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group (CAC) will be assembling together these drones designed by the Institute 611 Chengdu, one of the largest consulting firms of the AVIC group, without the details being revealed.
But knowing that PAC Kamra already assembles JF-17 Thunder locally for 10 years now, and with the technical assistance of Chengdu who is the original designer, it is reasonable to think that this new agreement, if confirmed, will follow the same way. Namely the supply of original parts and plans by CAC so that PAC Kamra can assemble at first a number of Wing Loong II on the spot, before transferring the technologies necessary for a part of parts and equipment is produced locally.
It will nevertheless be necessary to wait for other institutional confirmations to confirm and learn more about this collaboration. In the meantime, some Pakistani local sources are simply talking about a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for now, and that the delivery of the first Wing Loong II to the Pakistani Air Force should take place one year after the signing of the contract that the we still do not know the dates.
The Wing Loong II drone, in a smooth configuration, in an air show in China.
Note that this is not the first time that Pakistan relies on China for the construction of its vectors without pilots. The country is now producing a "small" attack drone known as Burraq, which is actually a licensed production of the Chinese drone CH-3 designed by the aerospace group CASC.
It is this history of collaboration with CASC that left some observers thinking that the CH-4, the same size as the Wing Loong I that was being evaluated in Pakistan since 2016, would be preferred. But it seems that the tests of Wing Loong I have finally resulted in the chosen choice on the much larger model ¹ which is the Wing Loong II.
It should also be noted that Sherdils' message used a bad image - The drone in the picture is not Wing Loong II but its competitor CH-5, which is a little bit surprising. It is therefore necessary to wait for elements of PAF and the Pakistani government to confirm this news.
But if this is confirmed, Pakistan will become the 9th exporting country and the 10th country using Wing Loong drones. So there is a veritable "proliferation" of Chinese drones along the Belt & Road area, as the 22 representatives of the Armed Forces Committee of the United States House of Representatives reported by sending a letter to Obama, then POTUS in power. Representatives stressed the risk of not only letting China take a new promising and emerging market, but it could also impact interoperability within the US-led coalition in the regions.
https://www.eastpendulum.com/le-pakistan-achete-48-drones-wing-loong-ii
According to the Sherdils Facebook account - the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) acrobatic team - the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra and the AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group (CAC) will be assembling together these drones designed by the Institute 611 Chengdu, one of the largest consulting firms of the AVIC group, without the details being revealed.
But knowing that PAC Kamra already assembles JF-17 Thunder locally for 10 years now, and with the technical assistance of Chengdu who is the original designer, it is reasonable to think that this new agreement, if confirmed, will follow the same way. Namely the supply of original parts and plans by CAC so that PAC Kamra can assemble at first a number of Wing Loong II on the spot, before transferring the technologies necessary for a part of parts and equipment is produced locally.
It will nevertheless be necessary to wait for other institutional confirmations to confirm and learn more about this collaboration. In the meantime, some Pakistani local sources are simply talking about a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for now, and that the delivery of the first Wing Loong II to the Pakistani Air Force should take place one year after the signing of the contract that the we still do not know the dates.
The Wing Loong II drone, in a smooth configuration, in an air show in China.
Note that this is not the first time that Pakistan relies on China for the construction of its vectors without pilots. The country is now producing a "small" attack drone known as Burraq, which is actually a licensed production of the Chinese drone CH-3 designed by the aerospace group CASC.
It is this history of collaboration with CASC that left some observers thinking that the CH-4, the same size as the Wing Loong I that was being evaluated in Pakistan since 2016, would be preferred. But it seems that the tests of Wing Loong I have finally resulted in the chosen choice on the much larger model ¹ which is the Wing Loong II.
It should also be noted that Sherdils' message used a bad image - The drone in the picture is not Wing Loong II but its competitor CH-5, which is a little bit surprising. It is therefore necessary to wait for elements of PAF and the Pakistani government to confirm this news.
But if this is confirmed, Pakistan will become the 9th exporting country and the 10th country using Wing Loong drones. So there is a veritable "proliferation" of Chinese drones along the Belt & Road area, as the 22 representatives of the Armed Forces Committee of the United States House of Representatives reported by sending a letter to Obama, then POTUS in power. Representatives stressed the risk of not only letting China take a new promising and emerging market, but it could also impact interoperability within the US-led coalition in the regions.
https://www.eastpendulum.com/le-pakistan-achete-48-drones-wing-loong-ii
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