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The Major Evolution of Pakistan Weaponry

Pakistan has always been known as a country that exceeds the world’s expectations when it comes to military weapons and new lines of defense. With their large inventory of aircraft jets, it would only make sense to have missiles that perfectly correspond with them. Some of these aircraft and missiles used by the Pakistan Air Force include the JF-17 block 1, the Dassault Mirage III, and the Shenyang J-31. Some of the missiles that have been created and modified for these jets range from the SRBM Ghauri- 1 built in 1987, the BRBM Hatf-1 built in 1990, and the MRBM Shaheen-3 built in the early 2000s. Even though all of Pakistan’s previous missiles were impressive, the newest missile has caught the attention of global defense newscasts everywhere.

The Air-Launched Cruise Missile Ra’ad, known as (Thunder Bird) in English, is Pakistan’s newest line of weaponry. The missile was originally developed in 2007 but was tested for the first time on February 2nd, 2015. The Thunder Bird includes many distinctive traits that are completely different from any other missile produced in Pakistan.



Missile Ra’ad was originally under development in the year 2007. The scientists of the thunderbird were looking to build a missile that contained both cruise control and sheath abilities. After testing many different prototypes of the missile, they were finally able to create their final Thunder Bird, which was made to correspond with two of Pakistan’s fighter jets. The 2015 version of Ra’ad is designed to attack fixed enemy installations, for example, radar posts, command nodes, and surface missiles.


The new missile also has a range of 350 kilometers with sheath capabilities and cruise control. Other than the cruise control and the fixed installations, the Thunder Bird is able to carry a 10-35 kiloton nuclear warhead. Ra’ad was made to be very different from the previous Pakistan missiles. Most of the missiles produced under their air force include SRBM (Short Range Ballistic Missiles), and MRBM (Medium Range Ballistic Missiles). Three Pakistan missiles that come close to matching the Thunder Bird are the land missile Hatf-VII, the Anglo-French Storm Shadow, and the US AGM-158 standoff missile. The only difference between the four is that they can navigate on land with cruise control, while Ra’ad can navigate on both land and air with cruise control. The Dassault Mirage III and the JF-17 fighter jets have been the only recipients of this super missile. Further production or modification of the Thunder Bird has been kept under secrecy by the Pakistan Air Force. However, Mansoor Ahmed, a lecturer from the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies stated that “two cruise missiles are especially important for Pakistan's nascent "posture of full-spectrum deterrence with added emphasis on counter-value targeting to offset India's strategic and conventional force modernization," which are integral aspects of India's "emerging proactive operations strategy."



The fact that the Pakistan Air Force has decided to be so unrevealing with this new line of weaponry is very suspicious. They probably feel that letting all of their countries know how advanced they have gotten with military arms will scare them. I personally feel that the only reason why they decided to keep the thunderbird under secrecy is because of the power that it contains. Being an American citizen, one might wonder if Pakistan would ever launch their new missile towards the U.S if they ever got into a dispute. In this case, America would have to develop something that would be able to match up against the Thunder Bird. With this missile only being a glimpse of Pakistan Air Force technology, what else will they have in store for the world of war? Will the cost of producing super weapons like this one affect Pakistan’s economy? Should America be worried about this type of missile advancement being produced?



BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Pakistan Tests Cruise Missile." Defense News. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

Web Desk.”Pakistan Test-Fires New Cruise Missile Ra’ad.” tribune.com.pk/story. Web Desk, 2nd February 2015. Web. 4/16/2015

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