ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
designed and developed by the
National Development Complex
National Defence Complex (NDC), ( ur, ) also known as National Development Complex, National Development Centre, is a Pakistani state-owned defence and aerospace contractor which is a division under the National Engineering and Scientific Co ...
, with the first version in service with the Pakistan Army's strategic command since 2004. With an optimal range of 290 km, it is named after the 11th century Muslim Turkic leader Mahmud of Ghazni. The word ''Hatf'' means ''deadly'' or ''vengeance'' in Arabic. It entered service with the Pakistan Army in 2012 after a successful launch conducted by ASFC (Army Strategic Command Force) on May 10, 2012.
The Hatf-III is a "Scud" type ballistic missile. The missile could carry nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 290 km. It was the second nuclear-capable missile test-fired by the Pakistan army in less than two weeks, since India's launch of Agni-V.
The missile has a length of 9.64m, diameter of 0.99 m, launch weight of 5256 kg and is powered by a single stage solid fuel rocket motor. It is believed influenced from a Chinese design, the M-11 (NATO reporting name: CSS-7).
Design history
Initially, the
Pakistan government
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territories ...
was actively pushing for acquiring the M-11 missiles from China with the intention of a quick deployment.Khan, PA, Brigadier Feroz (2012). Eating Grass: the making of Pakistan bomb. Sanford, ca, u.s: Stanford University Press. p. 552.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Benazir Bhutto personally lobbied in China for the M-11 missiles, but was unable to do so due to intense pressure mounted by the United States and the
MTCR
The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is a multilateral export control regime. It is an informal political understanding among 35 member states that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology. The regime was formed ...
's strict monitoring of prevention of the
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
transfers of the missiles.Rajain, Arpit (2005). Nuclear deterrence in Southern Asia China, India, and Pakistan. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications. . Development on ''Ghaznavi'' started in 1990s after the refusal of export of M-11 missiles from China to Pakistan. The ''Ghaznavi'' was pursued alongside the Abdali program, and its features are extremely close to those of the Chinese M-11. The Ghaznavi program contract was awarded to NDC.
The
Pakistan military
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
officials consistently maintained that the Ghaznavi program is locally designed and indigenously built. In 1995, its
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
was successfully tested and was said to be a "major break-through in missile development in Pakistan".
Tests and status
The ''Ghaznavi'' took its first
spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...
on 26 May 2002, at the height of the military standoff between India and Pakistan. On 3 October 2003, the ''Ghaznavi'' was again successfully test fired from an undisclosed location, which was described by the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
as "highly successful". The ''Ghaznavi'' successfully reached its target and has a range of 290 km (180 mi), making it capable of striking several key targets within neighboring nuclear rival, India. The ''Ghaznavi'' entered in the service in March 2004 and currently with the Pakistan Army.
Its third test launched took place on 8 December 2004; subsequent tests were conducted on 9 December 2006 another on 13 February 2008 and 8 May 2010; the 2008 test was believed to have concluded a winter training exercise of Pakistan's Army Strategic Force Command (ASFC). In May 2012, one more successful test of the missile was conducted as part of a training exercise.
Pakistan successfully carried out night training launch of Ghaznavi missile on August 28, 2019.
During its development at the NDC, the program was named in the memory of Mahmud of Ghazni– the 10th century Turkic emperor who founded the
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwes ...
and frequently invaded India. The JS HQ, however, officially codenames the missile as "Hatf–III Ghaznavi".