Pakistan successfully test-fires 'enhanced range version' of Babar cruise missile

Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test-fired an "enhanced range version" of the indigenously-built surface-to-surface Babur cruise missile that can strike targets up to 900 kilometres, twice the distance of an earlier missile of the same model.

"Pakistan today conducted a successful test of an enhanced range version of the indigenously developed Babur Cruise Missile 1B," the army said in a statement on Tuesday.

In February, Pakistan had conducted a successful training launch of the earlier version of Babar cruise missile that had the limited capacity to strike targets up to 450 kilometres.

The Babar missile "is capable of engaging targets at land and sea with high precision,” the Army said at the time in a statement.

Lt Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director General, Strategic Plans Division; Dr Raza Samar, Chairman National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM); Lt Gen Muhammad Ali, Commander Army Strategic Force Command and senior officers witnesses the launch of Babur Cruise Missile 1B, according to the army.

"Director General, Strategic Plans Division, congratulated the scientists and engineers on achieving excellence in the domain of cruise missile technology and expressed his full confidence that this test will further strengthen Pakistan’s Strategic Deterrence,” it said.

President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the services chiefs congratulated the scientists and engineers on the successful launch.

Pakistan regularly tests its weapons. In August, it conducted a successful test flight of Fatah-1, a Pakistan-made guided multi-launch rocket system capable of delivering conventional warheads.

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