SOURCE: Jane's Defence Weekly.
Pakistan unveiled its Shaheen-II medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) at this
year's annual Pakistan Day parade on 23 March. Although little public
information is available on the missile, visual inspection shows it to be
road-mobile with two solid-fuelled stages. Like Pakistan's other solid-fuelled
missiles, the Shaheen II is built by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's
(PAECs) National Development Complex (NDC) under the direction of Dr Samar
Mubarak Mund. Mund said last year that the missile was ready for test-firing and
Pakistani officials said the Shaheen II would be flight-tested "shortly".
The Pakistani government claims it has a range of 2,500km and carries a 1,000kg payload. If true, theN missile would have a greater range than either Pakistan's Ghauri I or Ghauri II, which are built by rival AQ Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at Kahuta, or the flight-tested distance of India's
Agni missile. The Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL)
vehicle is very similar to the Russian MAZ-547V which was used to transport the
SS-20 'Sabre' until it was taken out of service in 1987.
Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO),
which has experience with developing the country's solid-fuelled sounding
rockets, may also be involved with the programme. Other Pakistani ballistic
missiles on display at the parade included the Shaheen I (also known as the
Hatf IV), the Ghauri and the upgraded Hatf I, which was flight-tested earlier this
year
Pakistan unveiled its Shaheen-II medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) at this
year's annual Pakistan Day parade on 23 March. Although little public
information is available on the missile, visual inspection shows it to be
road-mobile with two solid-fuelled stages. Like Pakistan's other solid-fuelled
missiles, the Shaheen II is built by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission's
(PAECs) National Development Complex (NDC) under the direction of Dr Samar
Mubarak Mund. Mund said last year that the missile was ready for test-firing and
Pakistani officials said the Shaheen II would be flight-tested "shortly".
The Pakistani government claims it has a range of 2,500km and carries a 1,000kg payload. If true, theN missile would have a greater range than either Pakistan's Ghauri I or Ghauri II, which are built by rival AQ Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at Kahuta, or the flight-tested distance of India's
Agni missile. The Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL)
vehicle is very similar to the Russian MAZ-547V which was used to transport the
SS-20 'Sabre' until it was taken out of service in 1987.
Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO),
which has experience with developing the country's solid-fuelled sounding
rockets, may also be involved with the programme. Other Pakistani ballistic
missiles on display at the parade included the Shaheen I (also known as the
Hatf IV), the Ghauri and the upgraded Hatf I, which was flight-tested earlier this
year