Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday conducted a “successful test fire” of short-range surface-to-surface missile, Hatf-IX, which can carry atomic warheads and defeat all known anti-tactical missile defence systems, the military announced.
The test was conducted with successive launches of two missiles from a state-of-the-art launcher, a military statement said.
The missile, with a range of 60km and in-flight manoeuvre capability, can deliver nuclear warheads of appropriate yield with high accuracy, it said.
The quick response system‚ which can fire a four missile salvo, ensures deterrence against threats in view of evolving scenarios, the statement said.
Addressing the scientists‚ engineers and military officers of strategic organisations‚ chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, General Khalid Shamim Wyne, said Pakistan’s armed forces were fully capable of safeguarding Pakistan against all kinds of aggression.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf felicitated the scientists and engineers on the successful test.
The statement did not say where the test was conducted.
The first test of the Hatf-IX was conducted in April 2011. Experts said the Hatf-IX could be deployed with a mobile multi-barrel launch system that has “shoot and scoot attributes”, or the ability to fire at a target and immediately relocate to another position to avoid enemy counter-fire.
