NESCOM Burraq

The NESCOM Burraq is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed and built jointly by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Its development is believed to have started around 2009, following years of Pakistan’s unsuccessful requests to the United States to acquire the MQ-1 Predator, which the US had been using since 2004 for controversial strikes in Pakistan’s northwest territories. Denied over technology proliferation concerns, Pakistan accelerated the Burraq program in secrecy, fueled by frustration with US refusals and the politicization of those strikes. In 2012, China offered to sell Pakistan armed drones, but doubts about their capabilities led Pakistan to continue its own effort.

Early Burraq models were limited to surveillance and intelligence gathering, used by the Pakistani military to track militants, before a combat-capable version was publicly demonstrated in March 2015. The Burraq is thought to draw inspiration from the US MQ-1 Predator, the Chinese CASC Rainbow CH-3 A, and the Italian Selex ES Falco. As Popular Science noted, with the Burraq, Pakistan could conduct drone strikes independently of the United States.

Origin of name

The name “Burraq” comes from interpretations of Surah Al Isra in the Qur’an. In Islamic tradition, Buraq is a heavenly steed that carried Muhammad from Makkah to Al-Aqsa and then to the heavens, and back to Makkah during the Mi’raj (Night Journey), which is the title of that surah.

Operational history

The first Burraq fleet was inducted into the Pakistan Air Force and army in 2013, alongside the Shahpar UCAV. It carries various imagery and motion sensors and is equipped with a laser-guided air-to-surface missile called “Barq.” The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) described the system as a “force multiplier.” After a successful demonstration of its ability to fire missiles at both stationary and moving targets, Pakistan became the fifth country in the world to successfully develop an unmanned combat aerial vehicle. On 7 September 2015, the Burraq was used for the first time in a live military operation, firing on a terrorist compound in the Shawal Valley in Pakistan’s tribal areas, eliminating three high-profile targets, according to former ISPR Director General Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa.