Pakistan
successfully tested what it described as the "indigenously developed"
Ra'ad air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) on 2 February, according to an
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
The 4.85
m-long, nuclear-capable Ra'ad was launched from an undisclosed air
platform and was the fifth successful test firing to be announced. All
previous tests, the most recent of which was on 31 May 2012, were
conducted using an upgraded Dassault Mirage III ROSE aircraft.
The 350 km-range missile enables Pakistan to achieve "strategic standoff capability" on land and at sea, the Pakistan Army said.
Pakistan Tests Ra'ad ALCM |
Lieutenant
General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, director general of the Strategic Plans
Division, described it as a major step towards strengthening Pakistan's
full spectrum credible minimum deterrence. This is aimed at achieving
strategic stability in the region, he added.
The test
took place two days after India tested a canister-based version of its
nuclear-capable Agni 5 missile, which has a range of 5,000 km.
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