Pakistani makes drones for peaceful use
http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20110623&t=2&i=444897679&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=460&pl=300&r=2011-06-23T114407Z_01_BTRE75M0WLQ00_RTROPTP_0_PAKISTAN-DRONES
In Pakistan’s commercial hub, a Pakistani is developing his own drone technology despite security challenges arising from the current political climate and the public anger over the U.S. use of the unmanned aircrafts.
Located in a narrow industrial lane in Karachi is the 90,000 square-foot research facility called Integrated Dynamics. There, Raja Sabri Khan, the company’s chief executive, makes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. But his are for civilian and scientific research.
Khan’s markets are primarily the government, armed forces and also foreign exports for search and rescue operations, and agricultural monitoring among others.
There are two other Pakistani drone companies, Satuma and East West Infiniti, both based in Islamabad, but they mostly service military clients. Khan’s is the only one specializing in civilian applications.
Khan supplies 12 to 18 drones a year on average, along with two to three support systems. He declined to comment on his total revenue, but said a typical system for a small civilian UAV would cost around $10,000 to $15,000.
**CHANGING LIVES
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Part of Khan’s business is trying to create more awareness about civilian drones despite the security challenges.
“With the civilian and scientific application, you can change lives,” he said.
But there is no government support for developing indigenous drone technology, he added.
He now works on using drones for insecticide spraying on crops, an operation that would cost less than using a conventional aircraft and could cover large areas quickly — something that would be useful for Pakistan’s agricultural-dominated economy.
A local non-profit organization has also asked his company for drones to help monitor the rehabilitation of devastating summer floods of 2010.
“There’s a real answer in this technology to a lot of things that Pakistan can be doing in a more cost-effective manner,” he said. “We need to understand that this technology is there to help, not to kill people.”
Reuters