Pakistan has successfully carried out the night test launch of Ghaznavi, a surface to surface ballistic missile, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Thursday.
Ghaznavi Hatf-3, designed and developed by the National Development Complex, is named after the 11th-century Muslim Turkic conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni (Mahmood Ghaznavi). The word Hatf means deadly or vengeance in Arabic. The Hatf-3 is a “Scud” type ballistic missile. It can carry nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 290 km.
A Missile “is capable of delivering multiple types of warheads up to 290 kilometers”, said Maj Gen Ghafoor in a tweet followed by a video of the launch.
Pakistan successfully carried out night training launch of surface to surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi, capable of delivering multiple types of warheads upto 290 KMs. CJCSC & Services Chiefs congrat team. President & PM conveyed appreciation to team & congrats to the nation. pic.twitter.com/hmoUKRPWev
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) August 29, 2019
The missile has a length of 9.64m, a diameter of 0.99 m, a launch weight of 5256 kg and is powered by a single-stage solid-fuel rocket motor. It is believed to be inspired by Chinese designed, the M-11 (NATO reporting name CSS-7).
The Ghaznavi took its first flight on 26 May 2002, at the time of high military tensions between India and Pakistan. On 3 October 2003, Ghaznavi was again successfully test-fired from an unknown location and declared by the military as a “highly successful” attempt.
Its third test-launch carried out on 8 December 2004, followed by series of tests, conducted on 9 December 2006, another on 13 February 2008 and 8 May 2010.
In May 2012, one more successful attempt of the missile was made as a part of military drills.
According to DG-ISPR, President Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan “conveyed appreciation to the team and congratulations to the nation” for the successful launch of the recent missile test.
Earlier in May, Pakistan conducted a series of successful drills of Shaheen-II, a surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
In January, Pakistan witnesses another successful launch of the tactical ballistic missile NASR as part of the Army Strategic Forces Command training exercise.