Pakistan's army will take delivery of its first indigenous Vector unmanned air vehicle (UAV) by year-end, prompting its creator, the National Development Complex (NDC), to kick off an export drive.
Vector is a 200km (110nm)- range UAV with a 30kg (65lb) payload capability, says NDC general manager (marketing) Ijaz Khan. Vector has a 14,000ft (4,300m) ceiling and 6-8h endurance. NDC has developed the daylight video and low-light television payload as well as the system's real-time datalink, says Khan. NDC-developed infrared, chemical monitoring and signals intelligence payloads are also available.
He says the UAV is autonomous using GPS satellite navigation and an inertial navigation system. Take-off and landing - on the UAV's undercarriage or by parachute - are manual. The ground element typically has four vehicles and 15 personnel.
Khan says the army will use the system for border surveillance along its frontier with India, which has UAVs from Israel.
Vector has been developed over 12 years using as many commercially-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems as possible, says Khan. COTS systems are not subject to the sanctions that prevent the sale of military hardware to the country following its nuclear tests.
Source: Flight International
