Pakistan successfully conducts first flight test of Ababeel missile

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan has successfully conducted first flight test of surface-to-surface missile Ababeel having a range of 2,200 kilometers, according to Inter-Services Public Relations.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has congratulated the team and Pakistan armed forces for the landmark achievement.

Pak successfully conducted first flight test of SSM #ABABEEL, Rg 2200 Km. #COAS congrats team and Pak Armed Forces for landmk achievement. pic.twitter.com/iXBGgJf9JN

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) January 24, 2017

According to ISPR statement, Ababeel has a maximum range of 2,200 kilometres and is capable of delivering multiple warheads using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.

“The test flight was aimed at validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system,” it said.

Ababeel is capable of carrying nuclear warheads and has the capability to engage multiple targets with high precision, defeating hostile radars, the ISPR said.

“The development of the Ababeel Weapon System was aimed at ensuring survivability of Pakistan’s ballistic missiles in the growing regional Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) environment,” the statement concludes.

On January 9, Pakistan had successfully test-fired first submarine launched cruise missile Babur-3 having a range of 450 km.