Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test-launched an indigenously developed Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS), Fatah-1, Pakistan Army announced.
"The weapon system will give Pakistan Army the capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory," the Army said in a statement.
This was the second flight of Fatah-1, after its first launch in January. At the time, Director General of Pakistan Army, Media Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, said Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.
The test flight of the Shaheen-1A ballistic missile on March 26, 2021, was the last successful test conducted by Pakistan.
According to the ISPR, the missile, having a range of 900 kms, was tested to revalidate various design and technical parameters of the weapon system, including an advanced navigation system, the military's media wing said.
The guided MLRS was primarily developed to hit targets without leaving behind unexploded ordnance. The extended-range guided MLRS is a developed variant of the guided MLRS family, usually with an extended range of up to 150km.
The development of a conventional system by Pakistan seems to be a response to the Indian focus on the development of its conventional capabilities, besides improving response options to India's Cold Start Doctrine, according to daily Dawn.
On August 11, India tested its Defense Research and Development Organization-developed cruise missile off the coast of Odisha's Balasore district.
A day later, Pakistan
successfully conducted the test launch of a surface-to-surface ballistic
missile, Ghaznavi (Hatf III). The test was "aimed at ensuring the operational
readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, besides re-validating technical
parameters of the weapon system," the ISPR said at the time.
Pakistan's perspective on missile developments in South Asia
India and Pakistan continue to develop their missile-delivery systems and associated nuclear inventories, raising concerns of a regional arms race. While Indian doctrine appears intended to fight a 'two-front war' against Pakistan and China, the extent to which India's missile inventory is balanced, or otherwise, is a cause of disquiet in Islamabad, according to Dr Adil Sultan, Dean and Head of Department, Faculty of Aerospace and Strategic Studies, Air University, Islamabad.
Many of the new missile systems being added to India's inventory appear to be more suited to target Pakistan than China. This disconnect between India's threat perception and missile developments not only risks eroding the credibility of its deterrence posture vis-Ã -vis China, but also courts an action-reaction dynamic with Pakistan. Islamabad, in response to how it views Indian developments, is in turn making qualitative improvements to its missile arsenal, with the intention of deterring limited conflict to an all-out war. The resultant arms race in the missile arena, however, is moving on two different trajectories, Dr. Sultan argued.
Indian perspective on missile developments
According to Dr Manpreet Sethi, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi, credible nuclear deterrence presupposes the availability and integration of certain essential components that collectively constitute a nuclear arsenal. Delivery systems, deployable across a variety of platforms and of requisite range and reliability, are one such critical element. Accordingly, in the last decade the three nuclear-armed states in Southern Asia � ?? China, India and Pakistan � ?? have been engaged in developing missiles that they consider necessary to support their respective deterrent needs.
It is evident that the offensive and defensive missile forces of China, India and Pakistan are more capable and varied than they were a decade ago. As each country's inventories evolve, they will inevitably impact the others' threat perceptions and potential responses. Based on how the developments across the borders are perceived, counteractions could be taken, leading to a chain of action and reaction, Dr Manpreet Sethi argues.
The nuclear-armed adversaries, India and Pakistan, have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed Kashmir region.
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