ISLAMABAD\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Pakistan on Monday publicly acknowledged for the first time it had successfully tested a submarine-launched cruise missile.
It was also claimed to have sea-skimming and terrain-hugging flight characteristics to evade radar detection and interception\u00a0\u2014\u00a0especially with regard to future regional missile defense capabilities, a veiled reference to India\u2019s efforts in missile technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A further such reference to India was made in stating that the successful development of a second-strike capability was a “manifestation of the strategy of measured response to nuclear strategies and postures being adopted in Pakistan\u2019s neighborhood.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Development of Babur 3 was also hailed as “a step towards [Pakistan] reinforcing policy of credible minimum deterrence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mansoor Ahmed, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and an expert on Pakistan\u2019s nuclear program and delivery systems, said Babur 3 is a “significant milestone” in Pakistan\u2019s effort to complete its nuclear triad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“It has proven the speculation that Pakistan will not follow India\u2019s pathway to a naval leg of the triad via nuclear submarines but opt for a more cost-effective solution tailored to its own strategic calculus and capabilities,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Combined with the\u00a0very low frequency\u00a0communication facility unveiled last year, Ahmed believes Pakistan\u2019s Naval Strategic Force Command can now deploy nuclear-armed cruise missiles on its conventional submarines to ensure a credible second-strike capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
This is likely to be fully utilized onboard the forthcoming air-independent propulsion-equipped Hangor-class submarines designed by and co-produced with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahmed\u00a0further highlighted two points: that the Babur 3 can carry any type of warhead, courtesy of Pakistan\u2019s plutonium production program, which has enabled production of miniaturized nuclear devices for its range of missiles from Babur to the Shaheen III ballistic missile that covers all of Indian territory; and that Pakistan\u2019s sea-based deterrent “is also likely to rely on [China\u2019s] Beidou navigation system for precision targeting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan on Monday publicly acknowledged for the first time it had successfully tested a submarine-launched cruise missile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":83733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,11,16],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3413],"class_list":["post-43120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-global","category-naval"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"Z7K63VL57JG5HHEFQOY4XK6QKE","arc_canonical_url":"\/naval\/2017\/01\/09\/pakistan-reveals-test-of-submarine-launched-missile\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n