Pakistan successfully test-fires short range ballistic missile ‘Nasr’
Pakistan has conducted another successful launch of the tactical ballistic missile Nasr as part of the Army Strategic Forces Command training exercise, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
“The 2nd phase of this exercise was aimed at testing the extreme inflight maneuverability, including the end flight maneuverability; capable of defeating, by assured penetration, any currently available BMD system in our neighborhood or any other system under procurement/development,” it said.
The exercise included a training test on January 24, when the short-range surface-to-surface missile was fired in a salvo of four missiles, and single shots fired on January 28 and 31.
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, senior officers from the Army Strategic Forces Command, scientists and engineers of strategic organisations witnessed the launch.
According to the ISPR, the second phase of this exercise was aimed at testing the “extreme in-flight manoeuvrability” of the missile.
The missile is capable of defeating — by assured penetration — “any currently available BMD [Ballistic Missile Defence] system in our neighbourhood or any other system under procurement [or] development”, the military’s media wing said.
Gen Hayat appreciated the participating troops, scientists and engineers on “achieving yet another milestone of national significance towards Pakistan’s strategic deterrence capability.”
Introduced in April 2011, Nasr was developed in response to India’s Cold Start doctrine, the existence of which was officially confirmed by Indian Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat. The tactical nuclear weapon system, it is said, is meant to deny space to India for conventional conflict below the nuclear threshold.
Nasr, with a strike range of about 70-km, is a high precision, shoot and scoot weapon system with the ability of in-flight maneuverability, according to the Pakistan Army.
