Pakistani missile research and development program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:50, 21 February 2025

Revision as of 05:58, 21 February 2025

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===Codenames===

The Pakistani military issued a single military designation series, ''Hatf'' ([[Transliteration|Trans.]] [[Aiming point|''Target'']]), for all of its surface-to-surface [[Missile|guided ballistic missiles]].<ref name="Defence Journal, 1998" /> This designation was selected by the research and development committee at the HQ of the [[Pakistan Army]], which provided policy guidance to the program.<ref name="Defence Journal, 1998" /> In Turkish, "''Hatf''" means "Target" or "[[Aiming point|Aim point]]" and refers to the [[Arab sword|sword]] of [[Muhammad]], which was believed to never miss its target.<ref name="Defence Journal, 1998" />

The unofficial names, such as [[Ghauri (missile)|Ghauri]], [[Ghaznavi (missile)|Ghaznavi]], and [[Abdali-I|Abdali]], were codenames for developing projects assigned to defense contractors. These names were derived from historical figures involved in the [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic conquest]] of [[South Asia]].<ref name="BBC, Pakistan Bureau">{{cite news |last1=Abbas |first1=Zaffar |date=28 May 2002 |title=Pakistan's missile symbolism |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2014843.stm |access-date=26 December 2014 |publisher=BBC, Pakistan Bureau |agency=BBC}}</ref> The contractors were issued the project names after the Turkish nomads invaded India from the historical region of Greater Khorasan.<ref name="BBC, Pakistan Bureau" />