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Pakistan test-fires first home-made Fa’az air missilePakistan
Pakistan’s first home-grown air-to-air missile has passed its flight test from a JF-17, with the military calling it a milestone for self-reliance in defence technology.
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Pakistan has carried out the successful flight test of Fa’az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, in a step the country’s military says marks a major advance for its aerospace and defence capabilities. The announcement was made on Tuesday, with the military’s media wing describing the test as a milestone for self-reliance in advanced weapons technology.
According to the statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations, the missile is equipped with a state-of-the-art terminal guidance system and is designed to engage enemy aircraft at longer ranges. It is a beyond-visual-range weapon, meaning it can strike targets far beyond what a pilot can see with the naked eye, and it was launched from a JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft during the test.
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The statement said the missile can engage high-speed aerial targets in all weather conditions, day and night, and offers high manoeuvrability along with resistance to electronic warfare. Those qualities, the military said, will significantly enhance the operational flexibility of the Pakistan Air Force and further strengthen the country’s overall defence posture.
Senior officers of the armed forces watched the launch alongside the scientists and engineers who played a central role in designing and developing the weapon. Their presence underlined the domestic character of the programme, which the statement presented as evidence of the technical maturity and innovation achieved by Pakistan’s defence industry.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and the services chiefs congratulated the scientists and engineers involved. They described the successful test as a remarkable achievement and a symbol of indigenous capability.
The test comes weeks after the Pakistan Army successfully test-launched an extended-range version of the Fatah-2 missile in October, a sequence of trials that points to a sustained push to expand locally developed weapons systems. Defence analysts often note that indigenous missile programmes reduce dependence on foreign suppliers and give a country greater control over its arsenal.
For the Pakistan Air Force, the addition of a home-grown beyond-visual-range missile is significant because air combat increasingly depends on the ability to detect, track and engage targets at distance. A reliable weapon of this class, built and maintained domestically, allows the force to sustain operations without relying on imported stocks.
The military said the successful flight test demonstrated the self-reliance achieved by the country’s defence industry and would contribute to national security. No further technical details, such as the missile’s range, were disclosed in the statement, and officials did not say when the weapon would enter full operational service.
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