The H-4 SOW (Stand-Off Weapon) is a precision-guided

glide bomb A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target r ...

manufactured by NESCOM and deployed by the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, capable of striking targets at stand-off range. It has a terminal guidance system based on an

infrared homing Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...

seeker, which identifies the target during the final stage of flight. Designed to hit targets out to 120 km, the bomb may have the capability to evade radar.

Design & Development

According to Pakistani press reports, the H-4 glide bomb was created by Pakistan's National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM), working in collaboration with the Pakistan Missile Organisation and

Air Weapons Complex The Air Weapons Complex (AWC) ( ur, ) is a scientific research and development military complex engage in explosive engineering, specifically in airborne system. The AWC is operated and controlled by the Pakistan Air Force as its military unit th ...

in Pakistan. A lighter version of the H-4 has also been produced, the H-2 SOW, which has a stated range of 60 km. Three successful tests were conducted, the last one in 2003, which led to field deployment on the

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach number, Mach 2 ...

and

Mirage V The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned several ...

strike fighter In current military parlance, a strike fighter is a multirole combat aircraft designed to operate both as an attack aircraft and as an air superiority fighter. As a category, it is distinct from fighter-bombers. It is closely related to the con ...

s of the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

. It has also been stated that the H-4 will be integrated with the PAF's new multi-role combat aircraft, the JF-17, which is replacing the ageing fleet of

Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

and

Dassault Mirage 5 The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned severa ...

aircraft. All Pakistani JF-17 fighters, from the initial JF-17 Block 1 model to the final Block 3 version, will be capable of launching the H-4. The H-4's stated range of 120 km and its glide bomb design has led to speculation that it may be a Pakistani variant of the Denel Raptor II glide bomb, which is also guided by an infrared homing seeker and has a range of 120 km.

Operational History

On 27 February 2019, 2 Pakistani Dassault Mirage-VPAs armed with H-4 SOW bombs and 2 Dassault Mirage-IIIDAs for guidance via

data link A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...

carried out

airstrikes An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offici ...

Indian Administered Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

targeting

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the 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 is the Chief of Arm ...

brigade headquarters and forward support depots. The planes were able to lock onto the targets, however at the last moment, Pakistani Weapon system Officers took their cursor off them. This was confirmed by in-cockpit videos released by the PAF’s operations directorate for the 6th September telecast which showed that the

Airforce An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

deliberately did not target the Indian Military sites despite having them in clear sight. Later in April 2019, Indian media reported that a

Bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

unit carried out a bomb defusal operation in Mendhar and

Rajouri Rajouri or Rajauri (; Pahari: 𑠤𑠬𑠑𑠶𑠤𑠮, راجوری; sa, राजपुर, ) is a city in Rajouri district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is located about from Srinagar and from Jammu city on the ...

, where they had successfully defused 3-4 unexploded H-4 SOW bombs.

Operators

*: Pakistan Air force

References

External links

Dawn - a Pakistani newspaper article on H-4

The Times of India - an Indian newspaper article on H-4

Aeronaut
{{Pakistan Missiles Science and technology in Pakistan Aerial bombs of Pakistan Guided bombs Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Design & Development

Operational History

Operators

See also

References

External links