Pakistan test fires nuclear capable air launched cruise missile

Islamabad, Aug 25 (UNI) Pakistan today successfully test fired its new Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM), which can hit targets as far away as 350 kilometers, the military said.

The missile has been named Hatf-8 (Ra'ad), a statement by the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) said here, without disclosing location of the test.

It said the indigenously developed Ra'ad (Thunder in Arabic), with a range of 350 kilometers for now, had been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air Platforms, providing these with a strategic stand off capability on land and at sea.

The missile has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing.

The Ra'ad can carry all types of warheads and has accuracy comparable to Pakistan's longer Babur cruise missile, the statement added.

President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have congratulated the scientists and engineers involved in the development of the new national strategic capability.

Pakistan's defense will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, the statement quoted President Musharraf as saying.

This was the second missile test by Pakistan in less than a month.

On July 25, Pakistan had test fired nuclear-capable Cruise Missile Hatf-VII (Babur).

A terrain hugging, radar avoiding cruise missile, Babur has a range of 700 kilometers and is capable of carrying conventional as well as non-conventional war heads.

Pakistan formally kicked off its medium-range missile programme in April 1998, with the first successful test flight of Ghauri I missile followed by similar tests the next years involving the nuclear capable Ghauri, Shaheen, Ghaznavi and Abdali missile systems.

HATF-3 (Ghaznavi), HATF-5 (Ghauri), HATF-4 (Shaheen-1) have already been handed over to Pakistan Army's Strategic Force Command.

Pakistan's inventory of missiles also include long range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hatf VI (Shaheen II), which has a range of 2,000 kilometers.

UNI