Missile technology: Pakistan tests nuclear-capable Hatf IX

Pakistan successfully test fired a short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired a short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile. Hatf IX has a range of 60 kilometres and can carry conventional warheads, the military said.

“This quick response system addresses the need to deter evolving threats, especially at shorter ranges,” it added in a statement.

Director General of Strategic Plans Division Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai termed the missile as a weapon of peace, saying that the test was a major development which would consolidate Pakistan’s deterrence capability at all levels of the threat spectrum, thereby ensuring peace in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2012.