Pakistan has successfully conducted a test of Ra’ad-II – an air-launched cruise missile as per a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Ra’ad-II is claimed to have a range 600 kilometres with state of the art navigation systems for precision targetting.
According to reports in various media outlets, the successful flight test was observed by Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General Nadeem Zaki Manj, NESCOM chairperson Dr Nabeel Hayat Malik and senior officers from the Strategic Plans Division, Strategic forces and other strategic organisations.
The director-general of SPD also commended its technical capabilities and the commitment and devotion of scientists and engineers who contributed to its development. He called it “a major step towards complementing Pakistan’s deterrence capability”.
The Ra’ad-II is basically a flying bomb, designed to carry a large conventional or nuclear warhead with pinpoint accuracy. Modern cruise missiles can travel at supersonic or high subsonic speed.
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These guided missiles are self-navigating and fly on a non-ballistic very low altitude trajectory in order to avoid radar detection. The most common mission for cruise missiles is to attack relatively high-value targets such as ships, command bunkers, bridges and dams. The modern guidance system permits precise attacks.
According to Pakistani defence experts, special “terrain hugging low-level flight manoeuvres enable the missile to avoid detection and engagement by contemporary air defence systems.
