China is all set to sell 48 military drones to Pakistan

• The Pakistani government is all set to import 48-high end Wing Loong II aerial drones from China, according to local media reports.
  
• The deal is meant to presage the eventual co-production of the strike drones between China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group, and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra.
  
• The news of the agreement comes at a fraught time for the supposed “all-weather” allies. Pakistan is currently assessing the feasibility of a number of CPEC projects.
  

The ink has barely dried on the S-400 air defense agreement struck between India and Russia last week, but already another large military deal is taking place on the Indian subcontinent- this time between China and Pakistan.

As per local media reports on 9 October, the Pakistani government is all set to import 48-high end Wing Loong IIs aerial drones from China. The unmanned combat aerial vehicle is envisioned as a high-end reconnaissance technology. China has reportedly signed agreements in the recent past to sell the strike drones to UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The deal, which is said to be the largest of its kind, comes at a fraught time for the supposed “all-weather” allies. Amid fears of falling into a Chinese debt trap (something that a large military deal will no doubt alleviate), the Pakistani government is assessing the feasibility of a number of projects under the China-Economic Pakistan Corridor (CPEC).

Last week, Pakistan decided to curb Chinese investment in a large railways project from $8.2 billion to $6.2 billion. The country has also sidestepped China and entered into talks with the International Monetary Fund for a potential bailout.

While the financial and delivery details of the transaction weren’t revealed, it has been in the works for some time. And it is meant to presage the eventual co-production of the Wing Loong II drones in Pakistan. Officials in the Pakistani air forces have said that the manufacturer of the drones, China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial Group, and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra, a state-backed air force equipment contractor, will collaborate on the domestic production of the drones.

Interestingly, the Wing Loong II deals comes as India engages in talks with the US to buy the latter’s Sea Guardian drones to add to its existing arsenal of weaponised drones sourced from Israel. Additionally, with its new Russian air defense system, the stage could be set for some potentially unnerving war games in the near future.