Pakistan on Wednesday “successfully conducted” the test of a nuclear capable medium-range ballistic missile, which it said would help strengthen its “deterrence capability and national security”.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the HatfV (Ghauri) is a liquid fuel missile that can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads over a distance of 1,300 kilometres.
The military’s media wing stated that the launch was conducted by a Strategic Missile Group of the Army Strategic Force Command on the culmination of a field training exercise that was aimed at testing the operational readiness of the Army Strategic Force Command.
The test monitoring of the launch was conducted at the National Command Centre through the medium of the National Command Authority’s fully automated Strategic Command and Control Support System (SCCSS). The National Command Authority is responsible to look after the country’s nuclear arsenals.
“It may be recalled that the SCCSS enables robust Command and Control capability of all strategic assets with round the clock situational awareness in a digitised network centric environment to decision-makers at the National Command Centre (NCC),” the ISPR said.
Pakistan has tested a wide range of nuclear-capable missiles, ranging from the Hatf-IX tactical missile with a range of 60 km to the Hatf-IV, this year as part of efforts to strengthen its nuclear arsenal to counter India’s conventional superiority.
The military’s media wing said that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf congratulated all ranks of the Army Strategic Force Command on the excellent standard achieved during training which was reflected in the proficient handling of the weapon system in the field and the accuracy of the training launch. The president said that the country’s defence was impregnable and vowed to safeguard the national interests at any cost.
It was the country’s eighth missile test so far this year and comes two months after its last test of a Hatf-VII with a range of 700 km.
Five of those tests were conducted within a few weeks after arch-rival India in April test-fired the Agni V, which can deliver a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in China, marking a major advance in its military capabilities.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2012.
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It runs on liquid fuel. Pakistanis, please don't tell me that it uses water kit.