Pakistan Test Fired Raad Hatf-VIII Air-To-Surface Cruise Missile

In Pakistan, a successful Flight Test of the natively developed Air Launched Cruise Missile, Hatf-VIII (Ra’ad), has been conducted performed.

Due to the ongoing process of developing better technical parameters of the weapon system, the test was performed. The newly developed Ra’ad missile has a range of over 350 km, and has been exclusively developed to launch from Aerial Platforms.

 

The missile makes use of Cruise Technology. This technology is extremely complex however, and only a few specific countries in the world have been able to develop it. This new system allows Pakistan to expand their possibilities on grounds of strategic standoff capability on land and at sea.

Air-launch BrahMos Cruise Missile Ready for Tests

A modified version of the supersonic BrahMos missile for use by aircraft is ready for tests.
Once the tests are completed, the missile will be inducted in the Indian Air Force. The missile has been already inducted in the Army and Navy.

Speaking to reporters at Kalasalingam University here, BrahMos Aerospace CEO and MD A. Sivathanu Pillai said the missile has been successfully modified for launch from fighter aircraft and fighter-bombers.

"The weight of the missile has been reduced by 500 kg to 2,500 kg for the air-launch variant," he said.

The land and sea launch versions weigh 3,000 kg.

 

Though the weight has been reduced, the air-launch version remains as deadly as its land- and sea-launched counterparts, Mr Pillai said, adding that trials for the air launch version of BrahMos would be conducted in 2012 and it is expected to be inducted in the Indian Air Force by 2013.

Noting that Sukhoi-30 is currently India’s main strike fighter and the ideal platform for the air-launched missile, he said this version of the BrahMos had been made to be fitted on the aircraft.

Mr Pillai said modifications will have to be made to be made to the Sukhoi-30s too to integrate the air launch version of BrahMos on the fighter.

"The Sukhoi-30 is currently being modified in Russia to allow it to carry the BrahMos,” he said.

Mr Pillai exuded confidence that like the air-launch version of BrahMos, modifications in the Sukhoi-30, the interface and firing controls will also be developed successfully. If all goes well, the missile will be inducted in the IAF by 2013.

On the trials, which are scheduled in 2012, Mr Pillai said that first the missile would be fired without any explosives and then with a bomb load.

Asked about the unique 90º manoeuvrability of the BrahMos after takeoff, he said much effort had been taken to achieve the technique so the missile’s trajectory would be unpredictable. 

Pakistan Successfully Tested Babur Cruise Missile,

  Pakistan  Test fired a Babur cruise missile, a missile which has been a development of NESCOM.

Pakistan’s Babur cruise missile with a max range of 700 KM, and subsonic speed is a deadly missile which rivals the Indian BrahMos cruise missile. The missile has the capability of remaining in the terrain hugging mode while being highly maneuverable with pin point accuracy. Babur cruise missile can carry either strategic or conventional warheads.

The test was witnessed by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shamim Wynne along with other senior officers from the armed forces. Officers from strategic organizations, scientists and engineers were also present.

Wynne reiterated that the test will go a long way in consolidating Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capability, and further strengthening national security.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also congratulated the scientists and engineers on the success of the test.

The missile test was a normal procedure for the continuous validating of the system.