The Ghauri-II (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: غوری-اا) is a land-based medium range guided

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are powered only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) typic ...

designed and developed by the Khan Research Laboratories. Developed in response to India's Agni-II, its propellant technology is influenced from the Nodong-1 of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. Only two tests of ''Ghauri-II'' were conducted in 1999 and in 2004, but no military designation for deployment was ever assigned by the Pakistani military.

Development background

The ''Ghauri'' program was developed alongside the Shaheen program with a need to attained the ground-based

second strike In nuclear strategy, a retaliatory strike or second-strike capability is a country's assured ability to respond to a nuclear attack with powerful nuclear retaliation against the attacker. To have such an ability (and to convince an opponent of its ...

capability in an event of Pakistan's military losing ground against the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

. In response to Agni-II deployment, ''Ghauri-II'' received much support but its technological influence comes from the Nodong-1 of

. Design development began in 1993 but the ''Ghauri-II'' program suffered with many setbacks and expensive

trial and error Trial and error is a fundamental method of problem-solving characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying. According to W.H. Thorpe, the term was devised by C. Lloyd Morgan ( ...

s to meet Pakistan's survivability goals with Sharif administration terminating North Korean connections to favor its relations with

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It took several years for Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) to undertake the design, engineering, metallurgical analysis, development of onboard computers, and programming, culminating in the complete assembly of the Ghauri-II missile in 2000.

Technical design

The ''Ghauri-II'' design developed from ''Ghauri'' with propellant technology influenced from the Nodong-1. Collaborating with other defense contractors, the ''Ghauri-II'' is a two-stage system with its motor length is increased to , allowing the rocket to afterburn for a longer time and extended range. Material selections for warhead design and assembly also featured using the high-strength aluminum against high-strength low-alloy steel. The ''Ghauri-II'' is designed for maximum operating range of , respectively. Data provided by American-based

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

(CSIS), ''Ghauri-II'' is about in length, has a diameter of with a launch weight of .Pakistan’s Long Range Ballistic Missiles: A View From IDEAS

Operational testing

The ''Ghauri-II'' took its first flight in space in 1999; it flown more than in 12 minutes after being fired from Mashhood Test Firing Range of

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

. The launch was in response to India's Agni-II that also took place in 1999. After several years of gap, the ''Ghauri-II'' was last test fired in 2004 and enjoyed its distinction of being the longest range missile in service with Pakistan military, until its limit was exceeded by the successful launch of the Shaheen-II, also in 2004. Since 2004, no further tests have been conducted, nor has it been deployed with unique military identification.

References

{{Military of Pakistan, state=collapsed 1999 in spaceflight Medium-range ballistic missiles of Pakistan Military equipment introduced in the 2000s 2004 in spaceflight Guided missiles of Pakistan

Development background

Technical design

Operational testing

See also

References