Pakistani missile research and development program

Pakistani missile research and development program

Pakistan's missile research and development programme began with the planning stage in early 1987. According to General Mirza Aslam Beg of the Pakistan Army, once intelligence information that India was already developing nuclear missiles had been authenticated, then President Zia ul Haq was informed. He then made two decisions: firstly, Pakistan would not develop chemical weapons due to moral principles. Secondly, Pakistan would build short and medium range missiles with appropriate guidance systems. The programme has since spawned several strategic missile systems capable of being armed with conventional or nuclear warheads. Designated the Hatf series, the ballistic and cruise missiles have been created by several Pakistani organisations often cooperating or competing with each other.[1][2]

According to General Beg, the Hatf designation was chosen by personnel at the Pakistan Army General Headquarters (GHQ) involved with the research and development programme.[1]

Contents

Battle-field range ballistic missiles

The programme's first project was the Hatf I, a ballistic missile with an inertial guidance system, a range of 80 km and a payload of 500 kg. An improved version designated Hatf II, with the same payload but extended range of 250 km, was produced in 1989.[1] The latest battle-field range system to be produced is the Hatf IX Nasr, which is widely believed to be a delivery system for tactical nuclear weapons.

Short and medium range ballistic missiles

The first of Pakistan's larger missile systems, the Hatf III Ghaznavi with a range of 600 km and payload of 500 kg, was first tested in July 1997 and is stated to have been a major break-through. It had a two-stage solid fuel rocket motor and a more advanced terminal guidance system with an on-board computer. Five different types of warhead have been designed for the missile and they can be delivered with a claimed Circular Error Probability (CEP) of 0.1% at 600 km. The Ghaznavi is believed to have been based on the Chinese M-11 missile [3] but it has been claimed that the Ghaznavi's guidance system was developed entirely in Pakistan.[1]

The Ghauri series are liquid-fuelled ballistic missiles whose development was headed by the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL). The development is believed to have been led by Abdul Qadeer Khan.[4] Development of the first two variants, Ghauri I and Ghauri II was completed in the 1990s. According to the memoirs of AQ Khan, the development of the Ghauri III variant was stopped by Pervez Musharraf in 2000 with the project being around 50% complete.

The Shaheen series are solid-fuelled ballistic missiles developed by the National Development Complex (NDC), which was founded by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The SUPARCO and DESTO organisations were also involved. The electronics were developed by other NESCOM subsidiaries such as Margalla Electronics. The Shaheen programme was highly ambitious considering Pakistan's lack of infrastructure. Two Shaheen variants are known to have been completed and made operational, the Shaheen-I and Shaheen-II. The Shaheen-III is believed to be under development.

Cruise missiles

In 2005 the Hatf VII Babur ground-launched cruise missile was revealed in a public test-firing. Early versions had a range of 500 km but later a 700 km variant was tested. In 2007 the Hatf VIII Ra'ad, an air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) was revealed in a test by the Pakistan Air Force. It has a stated range of 350 km.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Defence Research and Development Organisation — Sanskrit: बलस्य मूलं विज्ञानम् Strength s Origin is in Science [1] Agency overvi …   Wikipedia

  • Armament Research and Development Establishment — Infobox Laboratory name = Armament Research Development Establishment motto = logo = established = 1958 city = Pune, Maharashtra research field = type = director = Surendra Kumar staff = budget = operating agency = DRDO affiliations = address =… …   Wikipedia

  • Research and Analysis Wing — Infobox Government agency agency name = Research and Analysis Wing nativename = nativename a = nativename r = logo = logo width = logo caption = seal width = 125 px seal caption = धर्मो रक्षति रक्षित: formed = 21 Sept 1968 preceding1 = preceding2 …   Wikipedia

  • Integrated Guided Missile Development Program — An Agni II during the Republic Day Parade in 2004 The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) was an Indian Ministry of Defence program between the early 1980s and 2007 for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles,… …   Wikipedia

  • Pakistani Armed Forces — Joint Services Parade in 2005 …   Wikipedia

  • National Development Complex — (NDC) Type Defence and Aerospace Technology Industry Aerospace and Nuclear Technology Genre Science and technology Predecessor Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission …   Wikipedia

  • Iran and weapons of mass destruction — This article is about Iran and weapons of mass destruction. For Iran s nuclear power program, see Nuclear program of Iran. Weapons of mass destruction …   Wikipedia

  • North Korea and weapons of mass destruction — North Korea Nuclear program start date 1956 First nuclear weapon test October 9, 2006 Last nuclear test …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear weapons and the United States — United States Nuclear program start date 21 October 1939 First nuclear weapon test 16 July 1945 …   Wikipedia

  • India and weapons of mass destruction — India Nuclear program start date 1967 First nuclear weapon test 18 May 1974 (Smiling Buddha) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”