Pakistan will buy 48 high-end military drones from its “all-weather friend” China in what a military expert said will be the largest deal of its kind, media outlet Money Control reported.

According to the report, the drone named Wing Loong II is a high-end reconnaissance, strike, and multi-purpose unmanned aircraft and is manufactured by the Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company.

The cost of the deal has not been decided yet, the report mentioned, adding that in future both countries will also jointly manufacture the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

The announcement of Pakistan-China military drones deal came in the immediate backdrop of recent Indian agreement of buying S-400 sophisticated missile defence systems from Russia.

The news of buying the Chinese drones was announced by Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) Sherdils Aerobatic on its official Facebook page on Sunday, mentioning that the cost of the drones will be revealed at the time of their delivery.

PAF further announced that in future Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Company will jointly manufacture the drones.

An earlier report by the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency stated that Wing Loong II made its maiden flight in February last year and the drone has already obtained the largest order of Chinese UAVs in the overseas market.