Islamabad - Pakistan on Thursday successfully test-fired an
air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the
military said.
The launch of the Ra'ad missile, which has a range of 350
kilometres, was carried out at an undisclosed location, the military
said, and came a day after India said it successfully test-launched
its longest-range nuclear-capable missile.
The Ra'ad, developed exclusively for launch from aerial platforms,
has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic standoff
capability on land and at sea, a Pakistan military statement said.
Pakistan's missile-development programme is aimed mainly at what
it calls maintaining strategic balance with its nuclear-armed rival
and neighbour India.
Ra'ad, which is Arabic for thunder, is a low-altitude,
terrain-following missile with high maneuverability, the military
said.
The missile test is part of a continuing process of validating the
design parameters of the weapons system, the Army said.
It was seventh missile test Pakistan has conducted this year. Last
month, it carried out back-to-back tests of its longest-range
surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the Hatf-VI (Shaheen-2), which
can carry nuclear warheads a distance of 2,000 kilometres.
India's test launch Wednesday of its Agni III surface-to-surface
missile, which can reach targets as far as eastern China, was
conducted from a military base off the country's eastern coast.
The missile achieved its full range of 3,000 kilometres by
reaching a target in the Indian Ocean, Indian defence officials said.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, the first two over the
disputed Himalayan state of Kashmir.
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