I was pleasantly suprised that Dawn recently did an investigative article on the UAV Industry in Pakistan and followed it up with a media gallery as well. ITT did a post on this last November. It is great to see several other media sources realizing this new technology niche and recognizing the small but fast growing industry.  To date, several sources , including Wired Magazine and P.W. Singer on his TED talk have mentioned and written about the growing UAV industry in Karachi and Islamabad. This industry currently serves military and civilian customers in Pakistan, US and others. For reference, here is more on robotic drones/unmanned flying vehicles for a quick ramp up. So I ask the politicians again, why are they going to other countries and asking to buy expensive systems while entreprenuers are working on these technology products in our own backyard?

As general software development/outsourcing becomes more of a commodity, moving up the value chain in such niche areas and domain expertise in specific verticals is the only way to go.

Links here:

Dawn’s Article:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/drones-made-in-pakistan

Dawn’s Media Gallery:

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/media-gallery/flying-high-in-korangi-sal?pageDesign=new_mg_wht_detail12-1

ITT’s Post:

http://www.ittazee.com/2008/11/28/pakistans-homegrown-advanced-uav-fleet/