Aviation Naval Warfare Land Systems Small Arms By Flag By Year By Tag

GIDS Shahpar

2012 MODERN AIRCRAFT DRONE TECHNOLOGY

GIDS Shahpar Story

The state of Pakistan has embraced the role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on the battlefield and put them into service by launching products such as GIDS Shahpar. The system, designed for medium-altitude unarmed reconnaissance missions, has some built-in autonomy and can be used for a variety of critical operations, such as landing and takeoff.

The mission payload revolves around a variety of cameras and sensors suitable for day and night operations. "GIDS" is an acronym for "Global Industrial Defense Solutions" from Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

GIDS Shahpar officially entered service in 2012 with the Pakistan Army (Air Force and Army) and to a certain extent also the Saudi Air Force.

The Shahpar is arranged in a "canard thruster" configuration, which means that a small set of wings (canards) are mounted in front of the main wing aircraft (rear mounted) and the engine drives the propeller unit aft of the hull in a "thrust" configuration. This allows the front part of the fuselage to be used to carry mission packs, as well as fuel and engines. The wing main aircraft has a slight swept back and is covered by vertical fins at its tips. This freed up the rear of the aircraft for a three-bladed propeller unit for propulsion.

The wheeled landing gear is fixed under the aircraft during flight (non-retractable) and the optical airbag (Zumr-I (EP) multi-sensor unit) is visible under the fuselage.

The total length is 4.2 meters and the wingspan is 6.6 meters. The payload weight reaches 50kg and the total take-off weight is 480kg. In terms of performance, the Shahpar can reach a cruising speed of up to 150 km/h and reach altitudes of up to 17,000 feet. The range is 250 km, limited by data connection. Power comes from a 100 hp Rotax 912 series 4-cylinder 4-stroke engine with reduction gears.

This Austrian-sourced engine powers many small and ultralight aircraft around the world.

The Shahpar platform provides real-time data transmission to ground commanders. Guidance and tracking is via a GPS-based system with optional manual controls and built-in autonomy. Landing maneuvers are also autonomous or manual, and can rely on tow parachutes for short runway operations.