The Burraq (Urdu: بُراق) is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) jointly developed and built by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
[1] Since 2004, the United States (US) has been conducting controversial strikes with its own Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle systems in Pakistan's north-west territories, that target suspected militants in the region.
[2] For years, Pakistan had been pushing the US to allow it to acquire the MQ-1 Predator, the main UCAV system the US uses in the strikes, but such requests were denied amid fear of technology proliferation.
[3] Burraq development is thought to have primarily begun in 2009, with the contract being awarded to NESCOM in close coordination with the Pakistan Air Force.
[1] Growing frustration over the US refusal and politicization of the US UCAV strikes in the country, the Burraq program is thought to have picked up its speed in secrecy.