Pakistan has successfully conducted the flight test of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-III, an April 09, 022. The test flight was aimed at re-validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system.
Pakistan had conducted a test of the same missile last year in January as well.
Shaheen-III is a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 2,750 kilometres, which makes it capable of reaching the farthest point in India’s northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is solid-fuelled and equipped with Post-Separation Altitude Correction (PSAC) system. Solid fuel is suited for rapid response capabilities, while the PSAC feature provides it the ability to adjust the warhead trajectory for greater accuracy and evading anti-ballistic missile defence systems.
India’s deployment and fast-track missile testing can be used to engage the defender state in an arms race while fueling crisis instability. India’s indigenously developed missile systems, such as Prithvi-II, supersonic cruise missile BrahMos, NGARM and nuclear-capable Shaurya missiles, are intended to launch pre-emptive counterforce strikes. This leads Islamabad to formulate a counter-balancing measure to maintain deterrence stability. It requires modernised strategic forces with improved offensive capabilities such as range and speed. In this regard, the range of the Shaheen-III missile allows it to hit strategically important Nicobar and Andaman Islands, which enable India to induce a second-strike option. Thus, the Shaheen-III missile system prevents the country from India’s strategic threat and ensures the credibility of its deterrence.
The missile was first tested in March 2015.