By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The military on Tuesday announced the successful test-firing of a new cruise missile, the Fatah-4, with a range of 750 kilometers, marking what officials described as a significant advancement in the country’s conventional arsenal amid heightened regional tensions.
The launch, conducted as part of a training exercise, was hailed by top leaders as a milestone in Pakistan’s defense capabilities, underscoring the nation’s push toward self-reliance in weapons development.
“Equipped with advanced avionics and state of the art navigational aids, this weapon system is capable of evading enemy’s missile defence system due to terrain hugging features and engaging targets with high precision,” the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
“As part of Army Rocket Force Command, Fatah-4 will further enhance the reach, lethality and survivability of Pakistan Army’s conventional missile systems,” the statement added.
The test was witnessed by the chief of general staff, senior officers from Pakistan’s armed forces, scientists and engineers, according to the ISPR.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the services chiefs all extended congratulations to the troops, scientists and engineers involved.
A statement from Zardari’s secretariat called the successful test of the Fatah-4 missile “a milestone in Pakistan’s defense system.”
“Indigenously developed modern missile is proof of Pakistan’s scientific self-reliance,” it quoted the president as saying. “Fatah-4 missile will further strengthen Pakistan’s defense capabilities.”
Zardari added that the nation is “proud of the hard work and determination of its scientists and engineers,” and that Pakistan’s defense “is and will remain impregnable.”
Developed indigenously and now integrated into the Pakistan Army’s Rocket Force Command, the Fatah-4 is designed to fly at low altitudes along the contours of the terrain — a capability known as “terrain hugging” — to help it evade enemy air defense and missile interception systems.
Cruise missiles like the Fatah-4 are powered throughout their flight, unlike ballistic missiles which follow a fixed arc, allowing them to maneuver in the air and fly under radar coverage.
The 750-kilometer range enables Pakistan to target military installations or strategic infrastructure deep inside neighboring territory, while the missile’s ground-launched design means it can be deployed and fired from mobile launchers on land.
Pakistan’s newly established Army Rocket Force Command was announced in August 2025 to consolidate the country’s conventional missile and rocket capabilities under a single structure.
The command is aimed at improving operational readiness and coordination in conventional missile warfare, while nuclear-capable systems remain under the separate Strategic Plans Division.
Analysts see the new formation as part of Islamabad’s effort to strengthen conventional deterrence amid regional security tensions, particularly the brief but bruising war with India in May.
Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed neighbors with a history of wars and border skirmishes, have long sought to modernize their missile arsenals to maintain credible deterrence.
While Pakistan says such developments are aimed at strengthening its conventional and defensive capabilities, analysts view systems like the Fatah-4 as part of Islamabad’s effort to narrow the conventional gap with New Delhi, which has continued to expand its missile defense network and develop longer-range strike systems in recent years.
The Fatah-4 test follows an earlier successful training launch in May of a Fatah Series surface-to-surface missile with a range of 120 kilometers, conducted as part of “Ex Indus,” the ISPR said in a statement at the time.
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