A shipment containing five CH-4B Drones from China was received in Pakistan on January 15.
According to a customs extract quoted by Pakistani website Quwa, 21 pieces of equipment other than drones were exported by China’s defense contractor Aersopace Long-March International Trade (ALIT) co-manufactured by CASC. The import customer was mentioned as “Headquarters Civil Works Organization.”
A description in the customs declaration seems to suggest that 5 number of Ch-4 UAVs along with supporting equipment in 5 cases was delivered. These could be an initial batch ahead of a larger acquisition, or a small-scale purchase for testing or limited utilization.
Pakistan joins Iraq, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Myanmar, and Jordan as an operator of the CH-4. It is unclear if Pakistan ordered the CH-4A or CH-4B.
The CH-4 drone has a maximum take-off weight of 1300 kg and a payload of 345 kg in addition to its electro-optical turret and synthetic aperture radar. The aircraft has a wingspan of 18 metres and length of 8.5 metres. It is powered by a 100 hp class piston engine giving a top speed of 235 km/h and cruise speed of 180 km/h with endurance of up to 40 hours.
Equipped with air to ground missiles such as the AR-2, the CH-4 presents itself as formidable close-combat weapon, especially when up against targets which don’t have drone detection technology.