Comment by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2026 at 1:42pm

Pakistan relies on a multi-layered counter-drone and short-range air defense network combining Chinese surface-to-air missiles with advanced Turkish anti-aircraft gun systems. The Pakistan Air Force publicly showcased this integrated shield in September 2026. [1] (https://www.facebook.com/fetchpakistan/posts/pakistan-air-force-has...)Key Systems in the NetworkHQ-17AE (Missile Shield): This is a mobile, wheeled missile system built by China. It protects against low-flying drones, cruise missiles, and helicopters. As reported by South China Morning Post, “The HQ-17AE has an operational range of up to 20km (12 miles) and a flight altitude of up to 10km.” [1] (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3366797/chinas-hq-...), [2] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HenLOLckyYc)ASELSAN KORKUT (Gun Shield): This is a Turkish twin 35 mm gun system designed to destroy incoming drone swarms. According to Migflug, it features “a twin 35 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun firing programmable airburst ammunition out to about four kilometres.” [1] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Pakistan_Air...), [2] (https://migflug.com/afterburner/pakistan-hq-17ae-air-defence-china-...)ASELSAN ŞAHİN (Point Defense): This is a mobile 40 mm smart-munition system from Turkey. It handles ultra-low altitude destruction of tiny rockets and drones. [1] (https://migflug.com/afterburner/pakistan-hq-17ae-air-defence-china-...), [2] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Pakistan_Air...)Broader Air Defense IntegrationPakistan places these short-range tactical units inside a wider national air defense umbrella. Longer-range systems like the Chinese HQ-9P and HQ-16 provide the upper tiers of protection for major cities and military bases. [1] (https://www.facebook.com/telegraphpk/posts/the-pakistan-air-force-h...), [2] (https://www.facebook.com/fetchpakistan/posts/pakistan-air-force-has...)

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2026 at 8:21pm

Pakistan police counter drone attacks with Ukraine-style nets

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260909-pakistan-police-coun...

Resembling fishing nets, the mesh lacks the sophistication of other military hardware.

Their use shows how lessons from the war in Ukraine are reverberating on distant fronts such as Pakistan, where security forces are improvising new defences against Islamist insurgents armed with the cheap, easily obtainable devices.

"These drones are easily available in markets, and with a bit of modification a kit for dropping shells can be installed. So it is quite easy and everyone has access to them," Khyber District police officer Waqar Ahmad told AFP.

"We have started installing these... nets to protect our personnel from aerial attacks and to reduce the risk of attacks involving drones."

Made from extra-durable thread, the bespoke, reinforced nets can scupper attacks by entangling enemy drones or by catching munitions, like mortars or grenades, high above the compounds so that they cause less damage if they explode

They are suspended several metres (feet) above the ground, between the top of the front of buildings and roadside concrete walls, forming a protective canopy.

In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide across long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.

Draped over the facade of several police premises in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which borders Afghanistan, the nets are a new line of defence alongside concrete blocks and other barriers.

KP is experiencing a growing insurgency by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with dozens of police killed in attacks on checkpoints this year.

Police are playing catch-up against the militant group, which has deployed drones extensively in attacks since 2024.

About 30 percent of police stations still lack their own devices, a senior officer in the provincial capital Peshawar told AFP.

Drones are readily available at specialised electronics shops across the province, with AFP finding them in around a dozen such stores in shopping malls in Peshawar alone.

They have become a vital part of the TTP's attack toolkit, used not only to strike targets but also for surveillance.

Another senior officer from KP said the militants use drones to monitor "every movement" of their operations, "which creates serious difficulties for us in countering them".

For Muhammad Aamir, a policeman posted at a checkpoint along a road in the province, the nets, alongside boundary walls, have "considerably" reduced the risk of drone attacks and hand grenades being lobbed at the building.

"These incidents caused significant damage and casualties among the police and other security forces. However, the situation has improved now," the 38-year-old told AFP.

But with attacks continuing to claim lives, locals say police need to do more to protect them.

"We want some peace and security in this area. Either the police post should be removed from this location, or the authorities should eliminate the threat posed by the Taliban from this area," said 48-year-old corn seller Gul Haleem.

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 15, 2026 at 8:52am

Shekhar Gupta
@ShekharGupta
India’s defence atmanirbharta needs a dose of realism — and a lot more drones, writes TN Ninan. A thread:

1. Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, laid out 3 maxims in a recent speech: “The nation that cannot produce what it needs is not truly secure. The nation that depends on its adversaries for critical inputs is not truly sovereign. And the nation that reduces its economics to consumption is not truly prosperous.”

2. The phrase that characterises this new world is ‘weaponised interdependence’. Such weaponisation comes more easily to those in control of the main nodes of the global economy, giving them coercive power. Equally, they could offer choke points for coercive use. For a middle power like India, such a world is more complex & offers many new challenges, & only imperfect answers or solutions.

3. The asymmetric conflicts in Ukraine & Iran pose their own urgent questions for the economy. Hundreds of missiles & drones have been fired in a day, for days on end, in both theatres. Can India hope to develop such a supply capability? Op. Sindoor made clear that wars now are fought in the cyber-physical world. What are the capabilities needed to handle such conflicts? To what extent do we have them?

4. India has always been wary of dependencies. Especially in defence, space & atomic energy, it has sought from the beginning to be self-reliant. The risk is over-reach can result in failure. Over-reach explains why many attempts at self-reliance in defence have failed, such that the country is the world’s 2nd-largest importer of armaments. Major weapons platforms that the country needs are still being imported. These come with forbidding price tags. Moreover, the world sends periodic reminders about supply vulnerabilities.

5. One of the issues in the last decade is that the govt hasn’t found it possible to provide more generous defence budgets, despite the deteriorating security situation. Given India’s manifest shortage of fighter aircraft & its ageing submarine fleet, senior service officers talk of a more challenging military balance with both Pakistan & China. India’s defence spending is just 2.1% of GDP, when global average is 2.5%, & security experts have said India’s should be 3%.

6. Yet, budget limitations may not be as much of a constraint in the future as they have been so far, given the asymmetric David-Goliath scenarios in the Ukraine-Russia & Iran-US conflicts. Most importantly, can India afford to invest less in expensive platform weapons, & focus on cheaper missiles & drones & manufacture them in large enough numbers?

Read the article here:

https://theprint.in/opinion/indias-defence-atmanirbharta/3038146/

https://x.com/ShekharGupta/status/2099835168274231719?s=20

Comment by Riaz Haq on September 20, 2026 at 5:25pm

A recent Pakistan Army promotional video has reportedly revealed the Turkish-made Baykar K2 (Kemankeş 2), a long-range one-way attack/loitering munition platform.
News Source - defence.in
According to available information, the K2 is designed for very long-range missions, with reported figures of more than 2,000 km range and 13 hours of endurance, while carrying a substantial warhead.

One of its most interesting features is its approach to GNSS-denied navigation. The system is reported to use electro-optical/infrared sensors and onboard processing to maintain navigation when satellite signals are disrupted.

The platform is also associated with networked and autonomous operations, potentially allowing multiple unmanned systems to coordinate during missions.

For India, however, the key question is not simply the K2's advertised specifications. Its actual threat will depend on how many Pakistan operates, its readiness, targeting network, launch infrastructure and performance under real electronic-warfare conditions.

If confirmed, the reported induction would further deepen the Turkey–Pakistan defence relationship and add another long-range unmanned capability to Pakistan’s strike inventory.

Comment by Riaz Haq 14 hours ago

Are Aircraft Carriers Obsolete? | Ask The Professor (Mearsheimer)

https://youtu.be/dFcCJtCE4Ig?is=dXEu-lo6za7RIlmB


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PODCASTS

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A...
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/podca...

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DESCRIPTION

‪@JerryMcLaughlin-r8w‬ asked whether drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles have made U.S. aircraft carriers obsolete, and whether the Navy saw it coming.

Carriers have always been vulnerable near large landmasses, which is why we didn’t use them against Nazi Germany or plan to in a Cold War fight in Europe. The threat is now far greater, and the cost exchange favors cheap missiles and drones over a carrier and its battlegroup. In a fight with China over Taiwan or the South China Sea, I think carriers are basically useless. Against Iran they’d have to operate even farther out as Iranian weapons improve.

The Navy knows all this, but carriers are bound up with its identity, so reducing our reliance on them will be hard. Looking at it purely strategically, I think we’d be better off spending much less on carriers and much more on submarines.


—————

Aircraft carriers are not completely useless, though their vulnerability and cost-effectiveness in modern high-end conflicts are heavily debated.

Arguments That Carriers Are Losing Value (Vulnerabilities & Cost)

• High Costs: Supercarriers like the U.S. Nimitz and Ford classes cost between $6.2 billion and over $13 billion to build, making them massive financial targets.
• Cost Exchange Ratio: Inexpensive threats—such as anti-ship cruise missiles, low-cost drones, and hypersonic or ballistic missiles ($30 million to $40 million)—heavily favor the attacker economically.
• Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD): Long-range sensors, artificial intelligence-driven tracking, and anti-ship ballistic missiles (such as those developed by China) can force carriers to operate far from target zones, limiting their air wing's reach and sortie generation.
• Production Delays: Programs like the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS John F. Kennedy have faced multi-year schedule delays and billions in cost overruns.

Arguments That Carriers Remain Valuable (Strategic Strengths)

• Mobile Air Bases: Unlike fixed land bases that can be easily targeted and destroyed by enemy strikes, carriers move continuously and operate within a multi-layered defense bubble (destroyers, cruisers, and air wings).
• Crisis Response and Diplomacy: They serve as vital instruments for political signaling, global deterrence, and humanitarian assistance where local airfields are unavailable.
• Adaptability: Rather than remaining static like old battleships, modern carriers are adapting through longer-range unmanned aerial vehicles, updated network-centric sensors, and standoff strike tactics.

Comment by Riaz Haq 2 hours ago

Pakistan Army wins Silver at International Military Drone competition in Türkiye

https://minutemirror.com.pk/650402-650402/#google_vignette

Pakistan’s Army team has secured second place at the Best International Military Drone Team Competition (BIMDTC-2026) in Ankara, Türkiye according to details provided in the report. The event reportedly brought together military drone pilots from 33 countries to compete in speed precision and flight-control challenges.

Representing Pakistan, the 44 Signals Regiment recorded a time of 50.253 seconds in the team event, earning the silver medal. Host nation Türkiye took first place with a time of 41.417 seconds, while Italy finished third and France placed fourth according to the reported results.


akistan also achieved success in the individual category where Captain Talha of the 44 Signals Regiment reportedly claimed second place among more than 100 participating military pilots. His performance earned him an individual silver medal giving the Pakistani contingent recognition in both the team and individual events.

The competition focused on first-person-view (FPV) drone flying a discipline in which pilots control unmanned aircraft using a live camera feed. Participants were assessed on their ability to navigate challenging courses maintain precise control and complete tasks at speed.

According to the supplied report the event ran from October 17 to 25 with the final results announced on October 24. It was organised by the Turkish Armed Forces and brought together military personnel from Europe, Asia, Africa and other participating countries.

Pakistan’s team reportedly prepared through simulator exercises and practical training designed to improve navigation, flight control and precision under demanding conditions. The results highlight the growing attention military organisations are giving to unmanned aerial systems and specialised drone-piloting skills.

FPV drones have become increasingly significant in modern military operations because they can provide surveillance and support specialised battlefield tasks. Their growing use in recent conflicts has encouraged armed forces worldwide to develop training programmes and evaluate emerging drone technologies.

Pakistan’s reported podium finish therefore represents a notable result for its participating team at an international military competition. Captain Talha’s individual medal adds to the achievement, while the event offers participating countries an opportunity to assess their pilots’ skills against international competitors.

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