National Engineering & Scientific Commission

The National Engineering & Scientific Commission (NESCOM) (Urdu: قومی ماموریت برائے مہندسی و سائنسی علوم) is a Pakistani government-funded defence contractor that develops, designs and sells defense hardware, including missile and weapon systems.^[1] It was funded and formed by the Government of Pakistan to develop its domestic production of weapon system.

National Engineering & Scientific Commission

قومی ماموریت برائے مہندسی و سائنسی علوم
Seal of the National Engineering & Scientific Commission
Agency overview
Formed	2000[1]
Preceding agency	National Development Complex (NDC)
Headquarters	NESCOM HQ, Islamabad
Employees	~16,000 (2011)[2]
Annual budget	Classified
Agency executive	Raza Samar, Chairman, NESCOM
Parent agency	National Command Authority (NCA)

History

National Engineering & Scientific Commission (NESCOM) was formed in 2000 by amalgamating the National Development Complex, Air Weapons Complex, Maritime Technologies Complex and the Project Management Organization.^[1]

In the early 2000s, NESCOM rapidly achieved several firsts. Among them, was the development of the Shaheen family of missiles, the Babur ground-launched cruise missile and the Ra'ad air-launched cruise missile.

Organization

NESCOM is organized into divisions, with each division being headed by a scientist with 600-1000 engineers and technicians under his supervision.

The following organizations are grouped together under NESCOM:

• National Development Complex (NDC) - responsible for the development of Pakistan's ground-based, solid-fueled ballistic missiles and cruise missile systems
• Project Management Organization (PMO) - responsible for the development of ground-launched cruise missiles and other surface-to-air and surface-to-surface ammunition
• Air Weapons Complex (AWC) - responsible for the development of air-launched cruise missiles and other air-to-air and air-to-surface ammunition
• Maritime Technologies Complex - responsible for the development of maritime defense systems including ship design, radars, sonar equipment, weapon launch systems.
• National Electronics Complex of Pakistan (NECOP) - Information and electronic complex covering civilian, IT and defence electronic domains ^[3]
• Defence Science and Technology Organization (DESTO) - Chemical Biological defence, Wind Tunnels ^[4]

Research areas

• Aerospace
• Missiles and rockets
• Ammunition
• Naval systems

Notable projects

Ballistic missile systems

• Nasr - solid-fueled hypersonic Tactical ballistic missile system with a range of 70-90 kilometres (km).
• Abdali - solid-fueled short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) system with a range of 200 km.
• Ghaznavi - short-range ballistic missile system with a range of 320 km.
• Shaheen-I - solid-fueled ballistic missile system with a reported range of 900 km. The Shaheen was Pakistan's first solid-fueled missile. The missile project began in 1995 and the development and design was carried out by NESCOM's predecessor, the National Development Complex (NDC).
• Shaheen-IA - an upgraded version of the Shaheen-I with a range of 1000 km. The upgrade was supposedly carried out by NESCOM in the early 2000s and supposedly included a terminal guidance system, improved radar-avoidance capability and stealth features.
• Ababeel - solid-fueled multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV)-capable ballistic missile system with a reported range of 2,200 km.
• Shaheen-II - solid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) system with a reported range of 2,500 km.
• Shaheen-III - solid-fueled ballistic missile system with a reported range of 2,750 km.

Land-based guided missile systems

• Babur-I - ground-launched anti ship and land attack cruise missile with a reported range of 700 km to 900 km
• Babur-II - an upgraded ground-launched anti ship and land attack cruise missile of Babur-I with a reported range of 750 km

Ship-based guided missile systems

• Harbah - ship-launched anti ship and land attack cruise missile derived from Babur-II with an estimated range of 750 km

Submarine-based guided missile systems

• Babur-III - submarine-launched anti ship and land attack cruise missile derived from Babur-II with a reported range of 450 km

Air-to-surface guided missile systems

• Barq - air-launched laser-guided missile carried on the Burraq UCAV, reported range of 8 to 12 km
• Ra'ad - air-launched cruise missile with an original range of 350 km
• Ra'ad-II - an upgraded air-launched cruise missile of Ra'ad reported range of 600 km

Air-to-Air missiles

• FAAZ – BVR capable air to air missile ^[5]

• Air-to-air missile research – It was reported in November 2001 that the Aerospace Division of NDC was doing "preliminary studies" for developing a new medium range air-to-air missile. The report stated that suggested that the missile may use active radar homing.^[6]

Guided bombs

• H-2 SOW – precision-guided munition
• H-4 SOW – precision-guided munition

Unguided bombs

• 250 kg – Pre-fragmented bomb
• 250 kg Mk.82 – General-purpose bomb
• 500 kg Mk.83 – General-purpose bomb
• 1000 kg Mk.84 – General-purpose bomb
• HAFR-1, HAFR-2 and RPB-1 – Anti-runway Bombs^[7][8] (possibly variants of the Matra Durandal)
• 6 kg, 11 kg Practice bombs

Depleted uranium ammunition

• 105 mm anti-tank round – a DU APFSDS anti-tank round developed to be fired by Type 59 tanks (upgraded with 105 mm guns) in service with the Pakistan Army. Reported to have a muzzle velocity of 1,450 m/s and be capable of penetrating 450 mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) at an unspecified range.^[9]
• Naiza (125 mm anti-tank round) – a DU APFSDS anti-tank round developed to be fired by T-80UD tanks in service with the Pakistan Army. A model of the round was put on display at the IDEX 2001 exhibition in the United Arab Emirates and it was stated to have a DU long rod penetrator, performance 25% greater than NDC's 105 mm DU round and a saddle-type sabot with re-arranged forward bore-rider for more accurate alignment with the T-80UD's autoloader.^[9] Displayed at IDEAS 2002 alongside DU rounds produced by other Pakistani organisations. Reportedly named "Naiza", made compatible with the T-80UD tank and stated to be capable of penetrating 550 mm of RHA.^[10]

Unmanned aerial vehicles

• Anka - unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) - (Jointly produced with Turkish aerospace company Turkish Aerospace Industries)^[11]
• Burraq - unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV)

Naval systems

• Starfish Naval Mine – a naval mine that targets submarines and ships, details on the mine were first released in 2001. Can be deployed by aircraft, ships and submarines. Makes use of solid state electronics. The mine's attack modes are controlled by a microprocessor which uses magnetic, acoustic and pressure sensors to analyse a potential target's signature. Sensors are mounted flush to both ends of the mine's cylindrical (barrel) shape. It is unknown if the mine has a self-destruct mechanism. Weight: 767 kg, warhead: 500 kg HE (PBX charge), storage life: 20 years.^[12][13]
• MSL Advanced Towed Array Sonar (ATAS) – a towed array sonar developed by Maritime Systems Ltd. (MSL) and MTC to replace old systems in service with the Pakistan Navy and for export. Project started during the 1990s, Commodore Sarfraz appointed as program chief. System was designed to cope with Arabian Sea environment and is stated to be superior to foreign systems being offered for export. Expected to be installed on Agosta 70 and Agosta 90B class submarines currently in service with the Pakistan Navy, also being integrated with the Agosta 90B's SUBTICS combat management system, as well as future vessels to be acquired by the Pakistan Navy such as new submarines and corvettes.^[14]
• Naval Training Simulator – programmable training system. Simulates maritime sensors and weapon systems of aircraft, warships and submarines under any weather or sea conditions. Installed on the Jalalat II class fast attack craft of the Pakistan Navy.^[14]
• Shore-based/ship-based electronic warfare system^[14]
• Ship-borne display consoles^[14]

References

1. "National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) | Facilities | NTI". www.nti.org.
2. "CESAT-- About Us". December 29, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-29.
3. "Project | china.aiddata.org". china.aiddata.org. Retrieved 2024-04-07.
4. "OFFICIAL OPCW PROFICIENCY TEST" (PDF). www.opcw.org.
5. "IDEF 2023: GIDS reveals details of prototype air-launched missiles". Default. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
6. "New BVR missile (Pakistan) (Pakistan), Air-to-air missiles – Beyond visual range". Jane's (website). Jane's Information Group. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
7. "Defense & Security Intelligence & Analysis: IHS Jane's - IHS". articles.janes.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011.
8. "Hafr-1 and -2 RBP-1 Runway Penetration Bomb, Pakistan". Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
9. "Pakistan joins DU producer nations". Jane's Information Group. 9 May 2001. Archived from the original on 21 December 2001.
10. "Welcome to the Air Combat Information Group". 1map.com.
11. "Pakistan, Turkey to Co-Produce Anka Combat Drones".
12. "Underwater weapons – Mines and depth charges". Jane's Air-Launched Weapons. Jane's Information Group. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
13. "Starfish Ground Mine (Pakistan), Underwater weapons – Mines and depth charges". Jane's Air-Launched Weapons. Jane's Information Group. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2009.
14. Ansari, Usman (20 October 2008). "Modernizing Navy Boosts Pakistan's Maritime Firms". Defense News. Retrieved 12 March 2010.^{[dead link‍]}