Burraq

The NESCOM Burraq (Urdu: بُراق) is a fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) developed in Pakistan by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) together with the Pakistan Air Force, first flown on 9 May 2009, inducted in 2013, and armed with the laser-guided Burq (also written Barq) air-to-surface missile. It is Pakistan's first indigenously developed armed drone and is operated by the Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Army.

Key facts

Item	Detail
Type	Unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), surveillance and strike
Developer	NESCOM with the Pakistan Air Force
Country	Pakistan
Development start	Around 2009
First flight	9 May 2009
Service entry	26 November 2013 (formal induction, together with Shahpar)
First public armed demonstration	March 2015
Weapon	Burq / Barq semi-active laser-guided air-to-surface missile
Operators	Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Army
Status	In service

Overview

The Burraq was developed jointly by NESCOM, the state-owned defence science and engineering organisation based in Islamabad, and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). According to Wikipedia, the programme is thought to have started around 2009, after the United States declined Pakistan's request to buy the armed MQ-1 Predator, and it was carried out without publicity. NESCOM does not publish product literature on the aircraft, so most of what is known comes from Pakistan's military public-relations wing (ISPR), defence trade press and open-source references.

Early Burraq models were limited to surveillance and intelligence gathering. On 26 November 2013 Pakistan's Ministry of Defence formally commissioned two indigenously developed "strategic" UAVs — the Burraq and the Shahpar — into the armed forces, for use by both the Army and the Air Force (Army Technology). The armed version was shown publicly in March 2015, when ISPR released footage of a Burraq firing the Burq missile at stationary and moving targets, and the aircraft appeared in the Pakistan Day (Republic Day) parade on 23 March 2015, the first such parade held since 2008 (Air Recognition).

The name refers to the Buraq, the steed that in Islamic tradition carried the Prophet Muhammad on the night journey (Isra and Mi'raj). The spellings Burraq and Buraq are both used in English-language sources; Army Recognition, for example, used "Buraq" when NESCOM displayed the aircraft at EDEX 2018 in Cairo.

Origins and design lineage

Because NESCOM has published no technical description, the Burraq's lineage has been discussed mainly by outside observers, and none of the following has been confirmed by the developer:

• Chinese CH-3 (Rainbow 3). The most common view is that the Burraq is a Pakistani development of, or closely related to, China's CH-3 built by CASC. Army Technology (2013) noted that observers described it as a Pakistani variant or development of the CH-3, and Defense News (2015) wrote that the Burraq and the similar-looking Shahpar are widely believed to derive from the CH-3, if not to be licence-produced versions. Wikipedia's CASC Rainbow article states that the Burraq "may be based on the CH-3" and that the Burq missile may be based on the Chinese AR-1. Analyst Brian Cloughley told Defense News that Chinese input may have been considerable.
• Italian Selex ES Falco. Pakistan was the first export customer for the Falco (2007), and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex at Kamra began licence production of it in 2008. Wikipedia lists the Falco, alongside the CH-3A and the MQ-1 Predator, among designs the Burraq is thought to draw on. The Falco family on this site includes the later Falco EVO.
• US MQ-1 Predator. Cited by Wikipedia as an influence on the overall concept: a medium-size, propeller-driven, missile-armed reconnaissance aircraft.

Pakistan's armed forces already operated several imported UAVs before the Burraq. In 2013 analyst Usman Shabbir told Army Technology that the PAF had "a lot of faith" in the Falco, while the Army had been using the German EMT Luna X-2000 and the British Meggitt Banshee.

Design and capabilities

The Burraq is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft with a single engine driving a three-blade pusher propeller; the engine type has not been published. Military Factory gives a length of 7.0 m, a width (wingspan) of 9.0 m, a height of 2.0 m, an empty weight of 500 kg and a maximum take-off weight of 1,000 kg. The same source lists a maximum speed of 215 km/h and a service ceiling of 7,500 m.

The aircraft carries imaging and motion sensors (Army Recognition), and at its 2015 unveiling it was presented as capable of operating in all weather conditions (Air Recognition). Its armament is the Burq laser-guided missile (below). After its first strike, analyst Brian Cloughley told Defense News that the Burraq's targeting and command structure were more sophisticated than many had expected.

Several performance figures are not officially published and are therefore left blank in the specification table:

• Endurance and payload. In 2013 Usman Shabbir estimated a payload of about 100 kg and an endurance of about 12 hours, explicitly based on CH-3 figures rather than on Pakistani data (Army Technology).
• Range. Military Factory lists an operational range of 1,000 km. No official figure exists, and the datalink radius of a line-of-sight UAV in this class is usually much shorter, so the number should be treated with caution.

Specifications

Specification	Value	Source
Length	7.0 m	Military Factory
Wingspan (width)	9.0 m	Military Factory
Height	2.0 m	Military Factory
Empty weight	500 kg	Military Factory
Maximum take-off weight	1,000 kg	Military Factory
Maximum speed	215 km/h	Military Factory
Service ceiling	7,500 m	Military Factory
Propulsion	Single engine, three-blade pusher propeller	Military Factory
Payload / endurance	Not published (estimates of ~100 kg / ~12 h are CH-3-based)	Army Technology
Armament	Burq laser-guided air-to-surface missile	Wikipedia, Army Recognition

Armament: the Burq (Barq) missile

The Burq — Urdu for "lightning", often transliterated Barq — is a semi-active laser-homing air-to-surface missile designed by NESCOM and produced by Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS). Its first public test firing, revealed by ISPR in March 2015, was made from a Burraq. Wikipedia gives the original missile a length of 1,450 mm, a diameter of 180 mm, a mass of 45 kg and a maximum range of 8 km.

GIDS showed the Burq at DIMDEX 2022 and presented it as a family of missiles at DSA 2024. The later members listed by Wikipedia are intended for UCAVs:

Variant	Mass	Range	Guidance
Burq (2015)	45 kg	2.5–8 km	Semi-active laser
Burq-50P	50 kg	2.5–12 km	Laser, optional GNSS
Burq-45P	45 kg	2.5–12 km	Semi-active laser
Burq-25G	25 kg	3–12 km	Laser, optional GNSS

Operational history

The first Burraq fleet entered service with the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Army in 2013, alongside the Shahpar, and ISPR described the armed version as a "force multiplier". Army Recognition notes that, before the aircraft was publicly unveiled, the military carried out strikes with it during the Khyber-1 operations in the Tirah Valley.

On 7 September 2015 the Director General of ISPR, Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, announced the Burraq's first acknowledged live operation: a missile strike on a militant compound in the Shawal Valley, North Waziristan, during Operation Zarb-e-Azb against the Pakistani Taliban (Defense News; VOA). It was the first missile strike Pakistan had carried out with a drone of its own. Army Recognition describes Pakistan as the fourth military, after Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, to use an armed drone in active combat; Wikipedia, citing the March 2015 demonstration, calls it the fifth country to develop a UCAV, while Air Recognition's 2015 report said ninth — the counts depend on how "developed" is defined.

Former PAF pilot and analyst Kaiser Tufail described the first strike to Defense News as the start of a new era for the Air Force, pointing to longer loiter time and no risk to aircrew. He also noted that the Army, Air Force and Navy each operated UAVs without a formal document dividing roles between them at the time. NESCOM displayed the aircraft abroad at EDEX 2018 in Egypt; no export customer has been announced.

Timeline

• 2007–2008 — Pakistan buys the Italian Falco and starts licence production at PAC Kamra, building UAV experience.
• 2009 — Burraq programme thought to begin; first flight on 9 May 2009 (Military Factory, Wikipedia).
• 26 November 2013 — Burraq and Shahpar formally inducted into the Pakistan Army and Air Force.
• March 2015 — ISPR reveals test firings of the Burq missile from a Burraq; the aircraft appears at the 23 March Pakistan Day parade.
• 7 September 2015 — first acknowledged combat strike, Shawal Valley, North Waziristan.
• 2018 — displayed by NESCOM at EDEX 2018, Cairo.
• 2022–2024 — the Burq missile is shown at DIMDEX 2022 and developed into a family presented at DSA 2024.

Comparison with related aircraft

The table sets the Burraq beside the two designs most often cited as its antecedents. Figures come from the sources named and are not all measured the same way.

	Burraq	CASC CH-3	Selex ES Falco
Country	Pakistan	China	Italy
First flight	2009	2007	2003
Max take-off weight	1,000 kg	650 kg	420 kg
Max speed	215 km/h	220 km/h (cruise)	216 km/h
Endurance	Not published	12 h	—
Armed	Yes (Burq)	Yes (AR-1, FT-9)	No (Pakistan's request to arm it was refused)

Sources: Military Factory (Burraq); Wikipedia, CASC Rainbow (CH-3); Wikipedia, Selex ES Falco (Falco). Other Pakistani UAVs on this site include the GIDS Shahpar-II Block-II, a successor to the Shahpar inducted alongside the Burraq, and the GIDS Uqab NG. Pakistan also operates the larger Chinese CH-4.

Frequently asked questions

Who makes the Burraq drone?

The Burraq was developed by NESCOM (National Engineering and Scientific Commission) of Pakistan jointly with the Pakistan Air Force.

When did the Burraq first fly and enter service?

It first flew on 9 May 2009 and was formally inducted into the Pakistan Army and Air Force on 26 November 2013.

What weapon does the Burraq carry?

It carries the Burq (Barq), a semi-active laser-guided air-to-surface missile designed by NESCOM and produced by GIDS; the original version weighs 45 kg and has a range of up to 8 km.

What are the Burraq's main specifications?

Military Factory lists a length of 7 m, a wingspan of 9 m, a maximum take-off weight of 1,000 kg, a maximum speed of 215 km/h and a service ceiling of 7,500 m. Endurance and payload are not officially published.

Is the Burraq a copy of the Chinese CH-3?

That has not been confirmed. Defense News and Army Technology report that observers widely believe it derives from the CH-3, possibly as a licence-built version, and Wikipedia also lists the Italian Falco and the US MQ-1 Predator as influences. NESCOM has not published design details.

When was the Burraq first used in combat?

Pakistan's military announced its first acknowledged combat strike on 7 September 2015, in the Shawal Valley of North Waziristan during Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

Who operates the Burraq?

The Pakistan Air Force and the Pakistan Army. No export customer has been announced.

What does the name Burraq mean?

It refers to the Buraq, the steed that in Islamic tradition carried the Prophet Muhammad on the night journey. The name is also spelled Buraq.