Pakistan has Developed MIRV Technology ! Successfully tested South Asia’s first MIRV payload nuclear-capable Ababeel Missile
Article Orginally appeared on The national Interest
United States Confirm that pakistan has developed a MIRV Technology . Pakistan has successfully tested Ababeel
ballistic missile with a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) .This make pakistan First country to acquire MIRV capability in south east asia
Robert Ashley, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) submitted his testimony to Congress on march 6 ,2018 stating that “In January 2017, Pakistan conducted the first test launch of its nuclear-capable Ababeel ballistic missile, demonstrating South Asia’s first MIRV payload.”
MIRVs capable missile can deliver allow deliver multiple warheads against different targets through a single missile launch
On january 24, 2017 Inter-Services Public Relations of pakistan army announced that Pakistan has sucessfully conducted its first MIRVed Ababeel missile . The maximum range of Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile Ababeel test was 2,200 kilometers. In the press release it was announched that “The missile is capable of delivering multiple warheads, using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.” The statement added that the test was aimed at “validating various design and technical parameters.” No other tests of the Ababeel missiles are known to have taken place since the first one.
Development of the Ababeel missile is believed to have begun in the mid-to-late 2000s, and the missile’s design is similar to other Pakistani solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missiles, such as the Shaheen II and Shaheen III, according to CSIS’s Missile Defense Project. Unlike those missiles— which both have two stages— the Ababeel is a three stage missile. The BBC reported back in 2010 that Pakistani missile designers were receiving substantial assistance from China in developing MIRV technology. The Ababeel appears to have a large nose cone, which may allow it to carry multiple warheads even if they are slightly larger than normal MIRVed warheads.
Islamabad’s stated rationale for pursuing MIRV technology is to defeat India’s ballistic-missile defense systems. “Development of Ababeel Weapon System is aimed at ensuring survivability of Pakistan’s ballistic missiles in the growing regional Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) environment,” the Pakistani military said in the statement announcing the test last January. “This will further reinforce deterrence.”
