Pakistani missile research and development program: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:58, 21 February 2025

Revision as of 15:10, 21 February 2025

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{{Short description|Pakistan missilePakistani technology initiative, established 19851986}}

{{Use Pakistani English|date=June 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}

{{Infobox project

| abbreviation =

| name = Hatf

| logo =

| image =IRBM of Pakistan at IDEAS 2008.jpg

| caption ={{small|The [[Surface-to-surface missile|land-based]] ground missile (LGM) system developed as part of the Hatf program mounted on [[transporter erector launcher|TEL]] with Pakistani military markings in display at the [[International Defence Exhibition and Seminar|IDEAS]] in [[Karachi]], 2008.}}

| mission_statement =

| commercial =

| type =Operational R&D

| products =

| ___location =

| country =Pakistan

| owner =

| founder =

| primeminister =

| key_people =

| established =1986–87

| disestablished = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->

| funding =

| budget =

| current_status =

| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->

}}

The '''Hatf Program''' ({{langx|ur|حتف|translit=ḥāṯaʿf|lit=Target}})<ref name="Defence Journal, 1998">{{cite web |last1=Lodhi |first1=Lt.Gen. S.F.S. |date=31 May 1998 |title=Pakistan's Missile Technology |url=http://defencejournal.com/may98/pakmissiletech.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990221044419/http://defencejournal.com/may98/pakmissiletech.htm |archive-date=21 February 1999 |access-date=21 November 2014 |publisher=Defence Journal, 1998}}</ref>) was a classified program by the [[Ministry of Defence Pakistan|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD) of Pakistan for the comprehensive research and development of [[Missile|guided missiles]].<ref name="Pakistan Observer, 2012">{{cite news |last1=Daheem |first1=Mohammad |date=18 October 2012 |title=Pakistan's missile capability |url=http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=178539 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129044501/http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=178539 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |access-date=21 November 2014 |publisher=Pakistan Observer, 2012 |agency=Pakistan Observer}}</ref><ref name="Lancer">{{cite book |last1=Karim |first1=Afsir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltOgS1FjiR4C&q=pakistan+missile+program+1987&pg=PA43 |title=Indo-Pak relations : viewpoints, 1989-1996. |date=1996 |publisher=Lancer |isbn=189782923X |___location=New Delhi |access-date=21 November 2014}}</ref> Initiatives began in 1986-87 and received support from Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] in direct response to India's [[Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme|equivalent program]] in 1989.<ref name="Pakistan Missile Milestones">{{cite web |date=1 September 2014 |title=Pakistan Missile Milestones - 1994 |url=https://www.wisconsinproject.org/pakistan-missile-milestones-1961-2014/ |access-date=20 August 2023 |website=Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control}}</ref><ref>Hans M. Kristensen, Robert S. Norris & Julia Diamond (2018) Pakistani nuclear forces, 2018, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 74:5, 348-358</ref>

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==Program overview==

[[File:IRBM of Pakistan at IDEAS 2008.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The missile systems developed as part of the Hatf program mounted on [[transporter erector launcher|TEL]] with Pakistani military markings in display at the [[International Defence Exhibition and Seminar|IDEAS]] in [[Karachi]], 2008.]]In 1987, planning and initiatives for the program began in response to India's revealed [[Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme|missile program]].<ref name="Defence Journal, 1998" /> General [[Mirza Aslam Beg|M. A. Beg]], then-[[Chief of the Army Staff (Pakistan)|army chief]], hastily launched the program, intending it to be led by [[SUPARCO]].<ref name="Stanford University Press, Khan, 2012">{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Feroz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yGgrNAsKZjEC&q=pakistani+missile+program+eating+grass |title=Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb |date=7 November 2012 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-8480-1 |pages=500 |language=en |chapter=Pakistan's Missile Quest |format=google books |access-date=10 September 2023}}</ref>

The program's feasibility proved more challenging than the nuclear weapons program due to inadequate funding and a lack of focus on [[control system]]s and [[aerodynamics]] education.<ref name="Stanford University Press, Khan, 2012" /> India, with existing knowledge based on Russian rockets, was already ahead in missile technology, developing its own independently.<ref name="Stanford University Press, Khan, 2012" /> Furthermore, the [[Missile Technology Control Regime]] (MTCR), formed in 1987, hindered Pakistan's efforts to acquire program components.<ref name="Stanford University Press, Khan, 2012" /><ref name="APH Publ. Corp.">{{cite book |last1=Chitkara |first1=M.G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LCaAQCnO3QQC&q=benazir+missile&pg=PA122 |title=Benazir – a profile |date=1996 |publisher=APH Publ. Corp. |isbn=8170247527 |___location=New Delhi |access-date=22 November 2014}}</ref>

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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" />