ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday conducted a successful test flight of an indigenously developed guided multi-launch rocket system called Fatah-1, the Pakistani military said, capable of delivering a conventional warhead.
The military’s media wing, in a statement, said the extended-range rocket system was capable of delivering a conventional warhead. “The weapon system will give Pakistan Army capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory,” the ISPR added.
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.
Pakistan and India routinely test newly developed weapon systems in their quest to gain military advantage over each other.
“The weapon system will give Pakistan Army capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory,” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military, said.
Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Nadeem Raza and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa congratulated the participating scientists and troops on the successful test.
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.
The nuclear-armed adversaries have fought three wars — two of them over the disputed Kashmir region — besides engaging in skirmishes along the de-facto border in Kashmir and the one dividing the Punjab province between the two nations.