Is Pakistan’s Shahpar-3 drone BETTER than India’s TAPAS and Israel’s Hermes 900 UAVs? Here’s how it stacks up

Pakistan recently unveiled its new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the Shahpar-III drone, which Islamabad claims boasts game-changing next-gen capabilities. Asad Kamal, the CEO of Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS), Pakistan’s defence research agency which developed the Shahpar-three, recently gave a top level view of the UAV’s capabilities.

Shahpar-three capabilities

Asad said the Shahpar-three, which he claimed became developed entirely indigenously by Pakistan over a course of just two years, boasts an outstanding wingspan of sixty seven meters, and is able to operating at altitudes above 35,000 feet for 30 hours at a range of 2,Five hundred km.

The Shahpar-three drone has six hardpoints, and is able to carrying a payload of around Five hundred kilos, including up to eight weapons, based on reports.

Its clear that the Shahpar-three’s capabilities boasts highly impressive capabilities on paper, however it, Pakistan’s lack of expertise and experience in developing UAVs, coupled with its documented dependence on allied nations like China, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, for UAV technologies, leaves a significant question mark on the Shahpar’s real-world performance.

Shahpar-three vs TAPAS, Hermes 900

The Shahpar-three’s capabilities listed by the GIDS chief, no doubt make it one of most advance armed forces drones within the arena, not lower than on paper, but Pakistan’s supposedly ‘homegrown’ UAV remains an untested entity, unlike its India’s TAPAS or the Israeli Hermes 900 UAV, which have showcased real-world results.

The Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance (TAPAS) drone, developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), can operate at altitudes of up to 28,000 feet and has a proven endurance of nearly 24 hours. DRDO has subjected TAPAS to years of rigorous trying out and development ahead of deploying it in real-world scenarios.

Its often found that the actual operational performance of many UAVs falls wanting their advertised capabilities, and even the Israel-made Hermes 900, used by the Indian Navy, does not have the endurance and payload capacity which Pakistan claims the Shahpar-III is able to.

Are the Shahpar-three’s claimed capabilities genuine?

No matter Pakistan’s tall claims, the Shahpar-three remains an untested entity, and its capabilities remains highly questionable on account of a few the reasons.

To illustrate, Pakistan claim of the Shahpar-three being ready to operate at 35,000 feet with a 30-hour endurance, and carrying Five hundred-kg payload, is a monumental one, because the u . s . a . does not have history of independently developing sophisticated UAV technologies, that too in this type of short span of time.

Pakistan claims the Shahpar-three drone became developed indigenously, which also raises eyebrows, as Islamabad has always relied on China for its UAV technologies, equivalent to the CH-Four and Wing Loong drones. Pakistan also uses Turkey’s Baykar TB2 drone and other less improved ones from China and Iran, who are proficient in UAV platforms.

Additionally, Pakistan has not disclosed what kind of propulsion system is used within the Shahpar-III, which might even be used to examine and validate its claimed capability of reaching an altitude of 35,000 feet and having an endurance period of 30 hours with a 2,Five hundred km range, and a Five hundred kg payload carrying.

What this means for India?

No matter the doubtful claims, the Shahpar-three may prove to be a real game-changer for Pakistan if it’s capabilities are indeed comparable to advertised. Pakistan’s improved drone may pose a significant challenge to India’s aerial surveillance and strike capabilities, if the claims about its capabilities are true.