Pakistan Announces That Its New BURRAQ Drone Has Successfully Fired a Missile at a Ground Target

Farhan Bokhari and James Hardy

March 16, 2015

Pakistan successfully fires missile from indigenous UAV

The Pakistan Army announced on 13 March that it had for the first time successfully fired a missile from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said that the successful test launch of the indigenous Barq laser-guided missile from the NESCOM Barruq UAV would “multiply the capability against terrorists”.

It is a “force multiplier in our anti-terror campaign,” said the ISPR, which also released footage of the test along with that of it being watched by General Raheel Sharif, the army’s chief of staff.

The Barruq and another unarmed UAV called the Shahpar entered service with the army and air force respectively in late November 2013. Few details on the Barq missile are available, although it is likely that it was produced by NECOM’s Air Weapons Complex (AWC).

News of the successful test follows earlier reports that Pakistan had unsuccessfully sought to buy armed UAVs from foreign sources including the United States. Pakistan’s UAV programmes have previously consisted mainly of reconnaissance platforms.

A Pakistani government official told IHS Jane’s that “the new armed drone is an important addition to our arsenal. It will enormously help in the campaign against militants”.

Almost one-third of the army is known to be currently deployed in the campaign against Taliban militants in the Afghan border region.