The initial Hangor II delivery timetable would have seen the four Chinese-built submarines delivered by 2023. But Germany had refused to approve export licenses for the MTU 396 diesel engine, which the submarine was designed to use.

The German government had also declined to grant export licenses for its engines in regard to Thailand’s order of the S-26T, a variant of the Chinese Type 039B submarine. The Thai deal eventually fell through.

Neither Germany nor Pakistan have confirmed whether export clearance was ultimately approved or denied.

The Pakistan Navy did not respond to Defense News’ inquiry about whether Pakistan had accepted China’s alternative proposal, which would see the locally made CHD620 engine power the Hangor II.

Still, Pakistan’s naval chief, Adm. Naveed Ashraf, attended the April 26 launch ceremony and “expressed satisfaction on the project progress,” according to a Navy news release.

The service is undergoing comprehensive modernization, having also acquired four Chinese-built Type 054A/P frigates — the most powerful and capable surface combatants it has ever operated.

But it’s the Hangor II submarines that will provide the Navy with a significant leap in capability, according to Tom Waldwyn, a naval analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.

“In terms of undersea capability, the eventual inclusion of eight Hangor-class submarines, based on China’s Type 039A/B Yuan-class boats, will enlarge the fleet and be a significant capability improvement, particularly if they are fitted with long-range cruise missiles,” Waldwyn told Defense News.

“Pakistan has reportedly tested sub-launched, nuclear-capable cruise missiles, and the introduction of these into service would be far more significant to the strategic balance than a handful of new frigates,” he added.

Waldwyn was unsure where Pakistan may have landed in regard to the engine. But another expert told Defense News that the Chinese alternative might negatively impact the operational effectiveness of the submarines.

Former U.S. Navy submariner Aaron Amick, who runs the website Sub Brief, said while China’s exportation of “unlicensed copies of naval technology has come to be expected,” it’s not necessarily a bargain. Though the Chinese engine is essentially a copy of Germany’s MTU 396, he added, it is made with “inferior cast and shaped materials, assembled with inconsistent quality control standards, and works great for a short period of time, then requires near continuous repair after a few hundred hours of operation.”

Pakistani naval officials had previously told Defense News the Hangor II is a Pakistan-specific variant of the Type 039B. It is equipped with a Stirling air-independent propulsion system to increase underwater endurance. It also features a Pakistani combat management system, a towed array sonar and weaponry.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military showed off its wares and unveiled several defense program during the March 23 Pakistan Day Parade in the capital.

The country displayed new equipment including the Haider platform, the first locally produced, Chinese-designed VT-4 main battle tank. The tank in the parade itself was from the pilot production batch unveiled March 6 by state-owned armored fighting vehicles manufacturer Heavy Industries Taxila.

Pakistan received 300 VT-4 tanks from China under a 2017 deal that involved local production. The system’s design originates from the Al-Khalid/VT-1A that is already in service and produced by Heavy Industries Taxila.

The long-range HQ-9/P surface-to-air missile system also made an appearance for the first time. And the military brought its Fatah 2 guided multiple-launch rocket system and its medium-range Ababeel ballistic missile that carries multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles.

The Chinese-supplied HQ-9/P entered service in 2021, with the parade announcer confirming it had a range of 125 kilometers (78 miles). That falls short of the 250-kilometer-range HQ-9 variants in Chinese service.

Pakistan has also announced new programs, including the PFX effort to replace the JF-17 combat aircraft. It’s 450-kilometer-range Fatah 3 is set to soon enter service, with the 700-kilometer-range Fatah 4 under development.

Justin Bronk, an aerospace expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, said the HQ-9 offers “shorter effective ranges, but with superior sensor performance compared to the S-300PMU-2 family of Russian [surface-to-air missiles] that they were broadly derived from.”

The weapon relies “on a family of missiles to cover various ranges,” he told Defense News, noting that “the HQ-9/P range — compared to longer-range variants — relates less to the system itself and more to which of the larger interceptor missile versions China was willing to export to Pakistan.”

Still, the military’s media branch, Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan, has previously stated the HQ-9/P significantly enhances Pakistan’s air defense architecture and is fully integrated via a digitized system.

Mansoor Ahmed, an expert on Pakistan’s nonconventional weapons programs and delivery systems, said the Ababeel missile’s presence was likely in response to India’s March 11 test of its Agni-V missile and ballistic missile defense capabilities. The Agni-V is also equipped with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle.

The Ababeel missile was last tested in 2023, but its service entry was not announced.

Ahmed, who is now an academic at the Australian National University, told Defense News that Pakistan felt compelled “to demonstrate that it had the credibility and resolve to deter crisis and first-strike instabilities in South Asia.”

He anticipates tests of India’s K-5 and K-6 MIRV-equipped, submarine-launched ballistic missiles “will spur further development of the Ababeel as a series of canisterized and longer-range versions that could carry heavier payloads for possible deployment on submarines in the future, for achieving greater survivability and operational flexibility that covers all possible targets in India.”

He noted this year there seems to be more nuclear-capable missiles on display, and Ababeel and its future developments have “become central to maintain a credible and dynamic full-spectrum deterrent.”

Future fighter

Pakistan’s PFX Program announcement came as a surprise, given existing plans to acquire the Chinese J-31 jet and the country’s involvement in the Turkish Kaan figther aircraft program. A previous fifth-generation program, dubbed Project Azm, seems to have been quietly shelved.

Design work is underway for the PFX Program, but little other detail is known.

However, Trevor Taylor, who leads the RUSI think tank’s Defence, Industries and Society Programme, said Pakistan’s decision is in line with other programs in India and richer Indo-Pacific states.

Indeed, the costs “would be high, and judging from the experience of others, the development time would be extensive,” Taylor told Defense News. He added there’s a likelihood Pakistan will import key subsystems such as engines, radars and other avionics for the PFX Program.

Analyst and former Pakistan Air Force pilot Kaiser Tufail agreed. “How the cost of such a platform would be kept within affordable limits would be a challenge and would depend on the export potential of the PFX,” he told Defense News.

Importantly, the extent of help from China “would be a key factor,” Taylor noted, and “a basic issue that would have to be addressed would be reconciling an ability to carry weapons with low radar observability.”

Cooperation appears certain, with Turkey as one option, according to aerospace expert Doug Barrie at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank. Alongside the PFX Program, he cited Pakistan’s February announcement to team up with Turkey to develop a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile.

However, he said, “given the very close defense aerospace ties between Pakistan and China, I wouldn’t discount that either.”

As for its features, Pakistan would likely want the PFX aircraft to “have stealth capability, which should also entail conformal weapons carriage and enough internal fuel,” Tufail said.

“A powerful [active electronically scanned array] radar and [beyond-visual-range] missiles that can outrange the Meteor of the Rafale should also be prime requisites,” he added. “Seamless sensor fusion, alongside comprehensive [electronic counter-countermeasures] capability, would be equally important.”

Fatah family

Pakistan’s announcement of the Fatah 3 and Fatah 4 weapons indicates the government continues to develop systems to “both enable greater precision firepower from deep within the country against Indian front-line targets, and similar reach into valuable Indian rear-area bases and systems from Pakistani border areas,” according to Frank O’Donnell, a nonresident fellow with the Stimson Center think tank’s South Asia Program.

By focusing on the offensive capabilities of multiple launch rocket systems and drones, Pakistan is able to free up its Air Force from strike missions to higher-level air-to-air combat roles, O’Donnell said, citing the parade commentator who stated the Fatah 2 “can evade any enemy air defense system.”

This “underlines how Pakistan is continuing to implement lessons from the Russia-Ukraine and Azerbaijan-Armenia wars,” he added. Both of those conflicts have featured the heavy use of combat drones.

And notably, he said, “sophisticated Russian air and missile defense systems — such as the Russian S-400, which India is deploying against Pakistan — are still vulnerable to asymmetric missile barrages and drone strikes.”

The intelligence gathering platform, dubbed Rizwan, is described as an “offshore supply ship” by online shipping monitor MarineTraffic. Pakistan reportedly acquired the vessel from China last year with no fanfare, and the ship was spotted during a stopover in Jakarta, Indonesia, in June 2023, while sailing home.

It is a compact vessel some 87.2 meters long, with two large radar domes on the stern, which along with other sensors point to an intelligence gathering role.

Neither the Pakistan Navy nor the Ministry of Defence Production, which handles military acquisitions, would discuss the ship’s role and capabilities when asked by Defense News.

However, a source with knowledge of Rizwan’s operations, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the topic, confirmed to Defense News it is an “information gathering ship.” The source declined to provide further details.

Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Singapore-based Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies think tank, said Rizwan appears to be an affordable and flexible design.

He told Defense News that the ship is based on the hull of an offshore support vessel, which makes “economical sense,” and that “aside from the huge radome that should serve as the electronic intelligence array, the platform might be able to accept varying mission modules if necessary.”

The ship looks to be dimensionally comparable to Norway’s intelligence gathering vessels Eger and Marjata, Sweden’s Artemis, or Germany’s Oste class, he added.

But Koh doubts Rizwan “has the onboard power capacity for telemetry missile tracking, like those found on the Chinese Yuan Wang series.” Instead, he explained, Rizwan is likely focused on gathering electronic and signals intelligence thanks to “onboard signals processing and analysis capabilities.”

He also said Rizwan’s modular configuration could support mission-specific equipment for hydrographic and oceanographic activities such as undersea gliders that can be launched from the stern deck.

Pakistan probably bought Rizwan in response to recent Indian acquisitions, as the two nations are archrivals, Koh added. And due to the relatively small size of Pakistan’s Navy, a dedicated electronic and signals intelligence platform will reduce the intelligence gathering burden on the service’s aircraft, ships and submarines, he explained.

These platforms would have mainly used electronic sensory measures to capture electromagnetic emissions, but “would have little or no capacity at all to process and analyze the signals,” he said. As a dedicated platform, Rizwan could therefore better monitor Indian naval activity “while freeing up the fleet combat assets for their primary duties.”

Rizwan’s acquisition should be seen in the broader context of Sino-Pakistani relations — specifically Beijing’s support for Pakistan’s military modernization efforts and attempts to keep India occupied in the Indian Ocean rather than beyond that area, said Pakistan analyst Mansoor Ahmed, an academic at Australian National University.

Alongside indigenous development as well as acquisition and production programs with the Dutch and Turkish governments, Chinese help is instrumental in advancing elements of Pakistan’s naval modernization plan. Such support is seen in Pakistan’s Hangor II submarines, long-range unmanned combat drones and anti-ship missiles.

“These and other projects will help plug gaps in fleet air defense, battle management, [electronic warfare], and [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] for a potent [anti-access/area denial] capability through three surface task groups operating in the Arabian Sea,” Ahmed said.

They will also transform Pakistan’s Navy into a “regional maritime force and will significantly reduce the overall asymmetry with the Indian Navy,” Ahmed added. It will also help keep India’s Navy “effectively engaged in ways that it will not be able to spare a large part of its assets for deployment beyond the [Indian Ocean region].”

Global Industrial Defence Solutions describes the Ranger as a runway-independent tactical UAV. It was designed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions, as well as for an artillery fire correction role.

Its multi-sensor gimbal payload incorporates a high-definition, electro-optical, medium-wave infrared sensor, and its laser range finder allows it to carry out daytime and nighttime operations. Its line-of-sight control is 100 kilometers (62 miles).

GIDS touts the drone as able to operate autonomously with artificial intelligence-enabled payloads.

Four small rotors provide vertical lift, while a larger pusher rotor delivering forward propulsion.

GIDS was also promoting its Fatah II guided multi-launch rocket system, first tested in December 2023. The export version has a range of 290 kilometers.

GIDS told Defense News that its presence at the defense expo is its largest to date as it attempts to secure more export deals, with the offer of local production as a sweetener. It has already sold products to Peru and has broken into the African market.

It is also keen to expand business with Pakistan’s close allies. On the first day of the show, the organization signed an agreement with Turkey, but a GIDS spokesman would not offer specifics when asked by Defense News.

ISLAMABAD — The Pakistan Air Force has revealed the existence of a hypersonic missile capability, noting on social media and in a news release that the weapon is part of a wider modernization effort “to counter evolving threats.”

The service said the capability is meant to help create a “potent force and to rebalance the power dynamics in the region” under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu.

Other modernization efforts have included the “acquisition of J-10C fighter jets, Unmanned Aerial Systems, modern electronic warfare platforms, force multipliers, state-of-the-art integrated air defense systems, air mobility platforms, [and High to Medium Air Defence Weapons Systems],” the service said.

The Air Force did not respond to Defense News’ questions by press time for further information about the hypersonic missile.

Pakistan’s main supplier of military equipment, China, unveiled its air-launched YJ-21E hypersonic missile at the 2022 Zhuhai Airshow. However, a H-6K Badger bomber carried the weapon — an aircraft type not in service with Pakistan.

Timothy Wright, a military analyst the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, said Pakistan’s hypersonic missile is likely not a new weapon, but rather the CM-400AKG, which the country acquired five years ago for its JF-17 Thunder jets. The service’s release included a video featuring the CM-400AKG missile.

“According to the missile’s manufacturer [Aviation Industry Corporation of China], the CM-400AKG can travel at hypersonic [Mach 5-plus] speeds,” he told Defense News. “However, there has not been an independent assessment of this claim.”

“It is possible the missile is instead a high-supersonic system” reaching speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 4.9, he added.

However, he said, Pakistan’s claim that it has a hypersonic-capable missile may be due to factors during the specific launch.

“The missile’s high speed might be achieved by the missile’s supposed flight trajectory, most of which takes place at high altitudes where it will encounter less drag, after which the missile descends toward its target,” he explained.

Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu was speaking Jan. 2 at an induction ceremony for new equipment — which included J-10C Firebird fighters — when he said the FC-31 would enter service in the near future.

The service did not reply to Defense News’ questions about an acquisition timeline and aircraft quantity, nor what this purchase means for Pakistan’s previously expressed interest in the Turkish-made Kaan fifth-generation fighter.

Indeed, it’s unclear what this purchase means for the fleet, as well as how it would impact the military balance between archrivals Pakistan and India, said Justin Bronk, an aerospace expert with the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.

“The impact of a J-31/FC-31 acquisition by Pakistan is difficult to predict at this stage because the capabilities and time frames for delivery are so vaguely understood,” he told Defense News.

“A great deal will depend on the level of stealth achievable in practice, the sensors and sensor fusion in the aircraft when operational, and the time taken for delivery,” he added, “since the development of Indian sensor, fast jet, air defense and weapon capabilities will continue in the interim.”

However, the sale to Pakistan is significant for China, said Rick Fisher, an expert on China’s military at the U.S.-based International Assessment and Strategy Center think tank.

“Splitting this program with Pakistan is very important, as [it] provides a subsidy that then supports … production for the Chengdu J-20 heavy fifth-gen fighter and defends the Pakistan market from looming European and Turkish fifth-gen options,” he told Defense News.

“Since its inception, the FC-31/J-35 program has been [a] clear objective for the [Chinese People’s Liberation Army] PLA inasmuch as it requires a lower-cost fifth-gen fighter to build up its own numbers, provide a true fifth-gen platform for the PLA Navy, and to compete internationally with the F-35 and the fourth-gen-plus [European aircraft],” he added.

But there’s a downside to Pakistan’s acquisition plan, according to Kaiser Tufail, an analyst and former Pakistan Air Force pilot.

“Firstly, induction of too many types of fighters is not helpful from the training and maintenance aspects. Secondly, the country’s economic scenario is rather grim, and spending needs to be curtailed drastically,” he said. “I feel that the JF-17 [Block 3], J-10 and F-16s can perform the air superiority role adequately.”

“The need for stealthy platforms can be met by UAVs, which are excellent platforms for tactical support operations over the battlefield,” he added.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan successfully test-fired a new indigenous long-range precision strike weapon with a range of about 249 miles, according to the military’s media branch.

This distance is a considerable leap over the existing Fatah 1 round, which has a range of about 87 miles.

The Fatah 2 is “equipped with state of the art avionics, sophisticated navigation system and unique flight trajectory,” Inter Services Public Relations said in Wednesday’s announcement.” Based on footage of the test released by ISPR, the Fatah 2 appears to be a two-round guided multiple launch rocket system based on the Chinese Taian TAS5450 eight-wheel drive chassis.

Its predecessor, the Fatah 1, is manufactured by Global Industrial Defence Solutions. The conglomerate says the Fatah 1 is intended “to precisely attack and destroy enemy’s group and area targets, such as military bases, massive armored troops, missile launching sites, large airports, harbors and other important facilities.”

The Fatah 1 is an eight-round guided multiple rocket launch system based on the same Taian chassis as the 10-round A-100 multiple launch rocket system in service with Pakistan.

The Fatah 2 test “marks another step in Pakistan’s efforts to field multiple precision strike artillery systems with variable ranges to hold adversary targets at risk,” said Frank O’Donnell, a nonresident fellow with the Stimson Center think tank’s South Asia Program and a senior research adviser at the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

The fact Pakistan developed the weapon, he added, demonstrates the country has learned lessons from recent or ongoing conflicts.

“When viewed in the context of Pakistan’s parallel efforts to field a similarly diverse arsenal of combat drones, its implementation of certain lessons — which the military feels the Azerbaijan-Armenia and Russia-Ukraine wars have reinforced — become clear,” O’Donnell told Defense News. “They include the advantages of assigning adversary precision ground bombardment missions to relatively low-cost artillery and combat drone systems, preserving manned fighter aircraft for higher-end strike missions and interception of their counterparts.”

India’s S-400 air defense system is likely a key target of the Fatah 2, he added, as Pakistan could fire the weapon as a decoy to create “greater room for a combat drone to strike the S-400 itself in the midst of the bombardment.”

ISLAMABAD — China and Pakistan on Friday wrapped up their largest bilateral naval exercise to date, marking the first time Pakistan hosted such an advanced Chinese destroyer for training.

The Sea Guardians event is the latest in series of joint maritime exercises that began in 2014, but this is the third time it took on that title. The drills take place annually, and the two countries alternate as hosts. The sea phase this month off Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.

The exercise, which ran Nov. 11-17, aimed to demonstrate China and Pakistan’s common aim to safeguard their shared economic corridor — a key part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative — according to Senior Capt. Qi Jian of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, who spoke during a media briefing before the drills.

Officials at the briefing also noted the exercise would help strengthen Sino-Pakistan relations and explore new avenues for naval cooperation.

Drill participants

The Chinese contingent included the Type 052DL destroyer Zibo, the latest version of the design that reportedly features anti-stealth capabilities, and a Song-class submarine. This is the first time Pakistan hosted such an advanced Chinese destroyer for an exercise.

Other Chinese submarines have visited Pakistan. In 2015, a Type 039A/Type 041 Yuan diesel-electric sub docked in Karachi, followed by a Type 093 Shang nuclear-powered attack boat in 2017.

The rest of the Chinese fleet attending this month’s exercise included the two Type 054A frigates Jingzhou and Linyi, the submarine support ship and replenishment vessel Qiandaohua, helicopters, and a marine detachment.

One element of the exercise began Nov. 14 with Chinese vessels and the Pakistani Type 054A/P frigate Shahjahan sailing out of Karachi.

The Chinese frigate Linyi and the Pakistani F-22P frigate Saif appear to have undertaken separate joint maritime drills.

Other elements of the Pakistan Navy participating in the exercise included Azmat-class missile boats and aircraft. The head of the Pakistan Navy’s media branch, Commodore Syed Rizwan Khalid, said no Pakistani submarine attended, noting that “for the safety of participating units, normally only one submarine participates in an exercise.”

Command of the flotilla rotated to each ship, with onboard observers monitoring the organization and implementation of the drills.

Khalid told Defense News the drills “simulated [a] multi-threat environment.” The training — for visit, board, search and seizure missions; air defense; anti-surface warfare; joint anti-submarine warfare; countermine operations; and special operations — helped “further enhance maritime cooperation and defense relations through mutual exchange of maritime experience and interoperability between the two navies.”

“Both navies have been regularly participating in this series of exercises, and interoperability between both the navies has significantly matured to undertake full-spectrum maritime operations together in the Arabian Sea,” he added.

The India factor

Frank O’Donnell, a South Asia expert with the Stimson Center think tank, said this month’s Sea Guardians event reemphasized “Chinese commitment to modernizing Pakistan’s Navy and expanding its presence in the Indian Ocean.”

India’s Navy, he told Defense News, was “reportedly tracking all the Chinese ships involved in the exercise, but it will be especially concerned by the Chinese selection of a Type 052 guided-missile destroyer and Type 039 diesel-electric attack submarine to participate.”

While India and Pakistan are rivals, they both have friendly relations with China. However, India and China have clashed in recent years over a border dispute.

“These ship classes are often key elements of [anti-access/area denial] strategies, which has long been Pakistan’s naval approach towards India. China-Pakistan operations involving these vessels will strengthen Pakistan’s capabilities toward expanding its A2/AD envelope against India,” O’Donnell said.

While the Song-class boat may not be China’s most advanced submarine, O’Donnell said its presence likely concerned India, as did the value it provided to Pakistan.

“In particular the Type 039 — as a predecessor class to the eight Type 041s, which Pakistan is acquiring from China, and which will likely be tasked with dual nuclear and conventional strike missions — will give Pakistan additional experience of effectively operating with a submarine very similar to the ones it is inducting,” he said.

The military’s media branch, Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan, said Tuesday’s test was intended to determine the “operational and technical readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command.” ASFC operates Pakistan’s land-based, nonconventional ballistic and cruise missiles, most of which can be armed with nuclear warheads.

The Ghauri missile’s survivability on a battlefield is unlikely given it would have to move with a convoy of support vehicles that provide fuel and prepare it for launch; that grouping of platforms would make it vulnerable to detection.

The country has replaced the weapon with the more advanced and survivable Shaheen series of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.

But Mansoor Ahmed, an expert on Pakistan’s nuclear program, said the Ghauri first underwent testing in 1998 and is still useful.

Ahmed, now in academia at the Australian National University, also told Defense News the Ghauri “appears to be the most widely tested missile system in the Pakistani arsenal.”

“Although this particular test is a training exercise, in addition to validating improved technical and performance parameters, these tests could also be an affordable way to test new reentry vehicle technologies,” Ahmed added.

And given “it is the only liquid-fueled ballistic missile in Pakistan’s strategic forces, the liquid-fueled tech may at least have given Pakistan experience to develop a satellite launch vehicle if it wants to go down that route.”

The Ghauri is fueled by TM-185 (a mixture of gasoline and mainly kerosene) and fuming nitric acid, he explained.

While kerosene has been, and still is, used for space rocket applications, he said, fuming nitric acid generally is not. A more usual combination, he added, would be kerosene and high-test peroxide that may deliver a higher specific impulse — or greater bang for your buck in terms of efficiency — to deliver cargo to orbit.

Pakistan last tested the multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles-capable weapon on Jan. 24, 2017.

The military’s media branch, Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan, stated Wednesday’s test was meant to revalidate “various design, technical parameters, and performance evaluation of different sub-systems” and was “aimed at strengthening deterrence and enhancing strategic stability in the region.”

The Strategic Plans Division, which handles Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent, did not respond to Defense News’ request for information about the latest test.

In 2017, the public relations organization stated the Ababeel had a 2,200-kilometer (1,367-mile) range and was developed to ensure the “survivability of Pakistan’s ballistic missiles” in a region in which state actors are bolstering countermeasures.

An expert on Pakistan’s nuclear program, Mansoor Ahmed, said the long time between tests was likely due to efforts to improve “technical and performance parameters.”

Ahmed, now in academia at the Australian National University, told Defense News that the Ababeel missile is the “most important engineering milestone for Pakistan’s nuclear triad in almost two decades and a major breakthrough in improving the survivability of land-based strategic forces against a preemptive Indian counterforce strike.”

Former Pakistan Army officer Naeem Salik, who served with the Strategic Plans Division and is now executive director at the Islamabad-based Strategic Vision Institute think tank, said the Ababeel “enhances Pakistan’s targeting choices.”

“Ababeel gives the advantage of engaging several targets at a time, with each delivery vector providing a cost-effective solution while complicating the job of India’s [ballistic missile defense],” he told Defense News. “In this context, it also fits well into [full-spectrum deterrence] by affording the ability to hit from amongst a wide variety of targets.”

Atia Ali Kazmi, a research director at the Islamabad-based Center for International Strategic Studies think tank, said the nuclear imbalance between India and Pakistan is pronounced, citing the expansion and technological leaps in India’s missile programs over the last two decades.

It’s the Ababeel, she told Defense News, that maintains deterrence vis-à-vis India.