The Pakistan army said on Wednesday it had successfully conducted a flight test of the Ababeel Weapon System, a missile system aimed at “strengthening deterrence and enhancing strategic stability in the region.”
The Ababeel missile is a surface-to-surface medium-range ballistic missile developed by Pakistan. It can reach targets at a range of 2,200 km (1367 miles), over three times the distance between Islamabad and New Delhi, the capital of Pakistan’s archrival India.
The countries have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 divided the Indian subcontinent into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India.
“The test flight was aimed at re-validating various design, technical parameters and performance evaluation of different sub-systems of the weapon system,” the army’s media wing said in a statement.
“The missile system is aimed at strengthening deterrence and enhancing strategic stability in the region through the operationalization of Full Spectrum Deterrence in the overall construct of Credible Minimum Deterrence.”
Wednesday’s launch was overseen by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and senior officers from the Strategic Plans Division and Strategic Forces Command, as well as scientists and engineers of strategic organizations.
