ISLAMABAD, April 22: The United States will provide Pakistan with 85 small 'Raven' drone aircraft, a US military official said.

The official, speaking on Thursday on condition of anonymity, declined to disclose the cost of the non-lethal, short-range surveillance aircraft, which are manufactured by the US-based AeroVironment Inc.

A company spokesman said the Raven was used by US allies, including Italy, Spain and Norway, and was one of the most widely utilised unmanned aircraft in the world.

Pakistan is expected to receive roughly $3 billion in US military aid in the upcoming fiscal year.

The Raven, according to the company website, has a wingspan of just 1.4 metres and a weight of 1.9kg. It can deliver real-time colour or infrared imagery, giving troops on the ground an edge on the battlefield.

A senior US defence official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Raven drone order was separate from US plans to offer Pakistan much larger, longer-range surveillance drones, a proposition put forward by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates during a visit to Pakistan in January 2010.

That offer delighted Islamabad at the time but Pakistani officials say those talks have been held up over complaints about the cost proposed by Washington and a slow timeline for delivery.

The US defence official suggested those talks were nearing conclusion.

“We're in final discussions about which one they really want. They think they want the Shadow,” the senior US defence official said.

Mr Gates had originally offered Pakistan 12 Shadow drones, manufactured by AAI Corporation, a unit of Textron Systems.

They are not the weaponised versions being used by the CIA to track and kill Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan but are used strictly for surveillance and intelligence gathering. —Reuters