UAV Manufacturers, Part 2 Codexery

Integrated Dynamics

Pakistani private UAV designer, manufacturer and exporter.

Integrated Dynamics (ID) is a Pakistani private firm that designs, builds, and sells a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), along with offering consulting and turnkey project setup for UAV systems. The company operates from a 90,000-square-meter facility, which it describes as one of the largest research, development, and manufacturing sites dedicated solely to UAVs. Its products include UAV platforms, flight control systems, C4I systems, data-links, payloads, ground support equipment, and accessories like auxiliary power units, starters, battery management systems, and launch or recovery systems. ID develops UAVs for both civilian and military use and has exported to the United States, Australia, Spain, South Korea, and Libya.

For law enforcement, ID produces the Border Eagle, a low-altitude, short-range surveillance UAV introduced in 2003 for monitoring national borders. The latest version is the Border Eagle Mk II.

On the military side, the Desert Hawk project began in late 2003 to meet a Pakistan Army requirement, with the first prototype flying in late 2004. It can fly unpowered or powered by either an internal combustion engine or electric motor, and its design resembles the L-3 Communications-BAI Aerosystems Javelin UAV. Endurance is about two hours, and a standard system includes a portable ground station and two UAVs. Its line-of-sight data-link can overcome terrain-masking issues by using one UAV as a communications relay while the other performs the mission—a capability demonstrated in 2005 during flight trials. The latest version is the Desert Hawk Mk II.

The Firefly is a mini-rocket UAV developed from late 2004 to meet Pakistan Army needs for a high-speed, short-range observation system usable in northern Pakistan’s high-altitude areas. A basic system costs around $3,000 and includes four rockets, a launcher, a carry case, a data-link, and a PDA-based ground control station. It uses a commercially available miniature solid-fuel rocket motor, giving about eight seconds of flight time, and covers 800–1,000 meters before disintegrating on impact. The airframe is PVC plastic with glass-fiber fins, and the payload is a disposable fixed-focal-length CCD video camera with a 1.5 GHz L-band data-link. Launch is from a hand-held “gun.” Flight testing began in mid-2005, and Firefly subsystems supported development of a hand-launched micro-UAV.

Founded
Private company in Pakistan
Site area
90,000 m²
Earliest product year
2003
Export countries
US, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Libya
Border eagle mk2 exports
15–20 airframes to five countries, total value $300,000
Firefly basic system cost
$3,000
Firefly flight time
approximately 8 seconds

Lore & Background

Integrated Dynamics supplies UAV platforms, flight control systems, C4I systems, data-links, payloads, ground support equipment and accessories such as auxiliary power units, starters, battery management systems and launch/recovery systems. The company develops UAV models for both civilian and military uses. Its law enforcement product, the Border Eagle, is a low altitude, short range surveillance UAV introduced in 2003, with the Border Eagle Mk II as the latest updated version. Military products include the Desert Hawk, a project started in late 2003 for the Pakistan Army, with the first prototype flying in late 2004. The Desert Hawk can use an internal combustion engine or electric motor and has an endurance of approximately 2 hours. The Firefly mini-rocket UAV, developed from late 2004, is a high speed, short range observation system powered by a miniature solid fuel rocket motor giving about 8 seconds of flight, covering 800–1,000 m before disintegrating on impact. The Nishan is a high speed aerial target/decoy drone, and the Tornado is a small high speed decoy UAV powered by a mini-turbojet. In late 2006, ID confirmed that a number of Border Eagle Mk II UAVs had been supplied to Libya during the previous 2 years, though the deal may have been limited to airframes only.

Reader's Guide

Integrated Dynamics represents a notable private-sector UAV manufacturer in Pakistan, with a broad product range spanning surveillance, target decoy, and mini-rocket systems. The company's significance lies in its claimed status as one of the largest UAV-dedicated R&D and manufacturing enterprises, operating on a 90,000 m² site. Its exports to the US, Australia, Spain, South Korea, and Libya indicate international reach, though the Libya deal may have been limited to airframes. The Border Eagle Mk II is described as one of ID's most popular airframes, with 15–20 airframes exported to five countries for a total value of $300,000. The Desert Hawk's ability to use one UAV as a communications relay to overcome terrain masking was demonstrated in 2005. The Firefly, costing around $3,000 per basic system, is a low-cost disposable observation tool with an 8-second flight time. The company's legacy, as per the article, is that of a private Pakistani enterprise developing indigenous UAV technology for both domestic military requirements and export markets.

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