Pakistan test-fires its most advanced nuclear-capable ballistic missile
Pakistan test-fired a Shaheen-III intermediate-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Friday, the country’s military reported. The missile had been first officially revealed earlier this year.
The missile was fired at the Arabian Sea and traveled 2,750km, its reported maximum range, said the Pakistani Army’s press service ISPR.
“The successful flight test with its impact point in the Arabian Sea, validating all the desired parameters, was witnessed by senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Strategic Forces, scientists and engineers of Strategic Organizations,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Top Pakistani military and civilian officials, including President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, congratulated scientists and engineers on the successful test, it added.
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The Shaheen-III is the latest version of the solid-propellant missile that Pakistan developed as a counterpart to India’s Agni-III missile. Its range allows Pakistan to hit targets anywhere in India. Islamabad conducted the first public test of the system in March.
India and Pakistan are longtime foes engaged in a regional arms race, stemming from a conflict dating back to Britain’s partitioning of its Indian protectorate into what now are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The two nations have fought four wars since then and still see occasional border skirmishes. Both have nuclear weapons and missiles capable of delivering them.
