The UAE Air Force will be equipped with locally designed and manufactured pilotless target planes for its gunnery exercises. The 2.5-by-2.5-metre drones are being designed and manufactured by Abu Dhabi-based National Targets Establishment (NTE).

Operations Manager Radha Kamala Karan said the first batch of drones, under a Dh5 million contract, will be delivered within three months. "The aircraft will be unveiled at IDEX 2001 for the public and foreign defence delegations to view them and watch live demonstrations," he said.

The planes, each weighing 75 kilos, can fly up to 320kph at a height of 600 to 1,000 metres. The company can also produce 120-kilo aircraft with more powerful engines and increased speed, and will be able to provide the UAE Air Force with other target, reconnaissance and surveillance planes.

"We are using the most advanced technology, especially for the remote control and pneumatic launching, which is used only by countries like the U.S. and other Western states," Karan said. The Unmanned Aerial Target (UAV) will be the first of its kind produced in the region "to be used as a 'flying duck' for defence gunners to practise".

A vehicle called the pneumatic launching system was also designed and manufactured at the company's workshop to launch the aircraft. Compressed air is used to launch the plane at a speed of 85kph.

The planes are equipped with parachutes to bring them back to earth safely. Karan said: "The entire assembly of the target plane is being done here in Abu Dhabi, with essential parts manufactured in the workshop. We are using fibre glass and aluminium for the body, with the moulding also done in the workshop.

Karan said the company will introduce more advanced systems. "We will be able to produce reconnaissance aircraft that could cover an area of around 450 kilometres, using the GPS system."

The next move will be to explore international markets after meeting local defence needs. "Our long-term plans include exploring the global market, with preference given to GCC countries," he said.

The company can also provide miniature products and related services for remote control plane hobbyists. "In the future, we can provide service-oriented products and training programmes for those who have taken up remote-control plane flying as their hobby," said Karan, who took up the hobby in the early 1960s.