GIDS Shahpar-II

The GIDS Shahpar-II is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Pakistan’s Global Industrial Defence Solutions (GIDS). It has entered production after completing testing and qualification. The aircraft is a development of the earlier GIDS Shahpar.

The airframe uses a pusher engine with canard foreplanes ahead of the wings. According to an engineer from AERO, one of the seven companies in the GIDS consortium, the only components not made in Pakistan are the engine and tires. The sensor suite—a multi-sensor turret called the Zumr-II (EO/IR)—is built at an AERO facility near Islamabad. The drone can take off and land autonomously on a runway or land using a parachute.

Its payloads support reconnaissance and day/night surveillance. The avionics can geo-reference and geo-point ground targets. The hardware meets military standard Environmental Specification 810F. Ground equipment handles mission planning, simulation, mission management, control, and crew debriefing.

An upgraded version, the Shahpar-2 Block II, offers a higher service ceiling and longer flight time. On 24 August 2024, one Shahpar-II crashed in Bhakkar district, Punjab, due to a technical error; the exact cause remains under investigation. Reuters reported that Pakistani sources confirmed the drone’s use during the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.

Development

The Shahpar-II was first publicly displayed on 23 March 2021 during the Pakistan Day parade. On 28 November 2021, at EDEX 2021, GIDS revealed operational specifications and a promotional video showing the drone’s locating, tracking, and targeting abilities for surveillance and ground attack. The Zumr-II turret was introduced as a lighter, improved version of the Zumr-I (EP) turret. The targeting and surveillance turret is installed as an internal payload, and the drone can also accept targeting systems from foreign suppliers.

It can carry SAR, COMINT, and ELINT payloads. Internally, the drone has a hardpoint for a 50 kg payload (the Zumr-I weighs 36.5 kg, the Zumr-II 49 kg). Two external hardpoints can each carry 60 kg of laser-guided weapons or air-to-ground missiles. The promotional video showed the Shahpar-II firing the Barq laser-guided air-to-surface missile at moving and stationary targets with high accuracy.