In a major statement, the Pakistan Air Force announced that it has enhanced its war capabilities by acquiring advanced technology, including hypersonic missiles. According to details, these weapons can travel at hypersonic speeds, which means anything between 5 to 25 times faster than the speed of sound, approximately 1 to 5 miles per second.
Pakistan is among countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and India, that are actively involved in the global race for hypersonic and directed-energy weapons. These regional powers have either developed or expressed their intentions to pursue such advanced technologies.
“Pakistan Air Force has undertaken a transformative modernization initiative to counter evolving threats in the current geostrategic threat scenario, prioritizing the induction of modern systems through smart acquisitions and indigenization,” PAF said last week.
“The acquisition of J-10C fighter jets, Unmanned Aerial Systems, modern electronic warfare platforms, force multipliers, state-of-the-art integrated air defense systems, air mobility platforms, High to medium air defense [HIMAD] and hypersonic missile capabilities at an unprecedented pace has bolstered the PAF’s warfighting capabilities,” the statement added.
According to the Pakistan Air Force, it has implemented a “comprehensive strategy” to rebalance power dynamics in the region and become a next-generation force “with induction of niche technologies, state-of-the-art equipment, and human resource trained on modern standards with contemporary architecture for Full Spectrum Cross Domain Multi Arena warfare readiness in the fields of Aviation, Space, Cyber, Artificial Intelligence, and Information Technology to address the modern aerial warfare challenges.”
The PAF termed the acquisition of fifth-generation stealth fighter jets a key milestone in this strategic transformation.
Timothy Wright, a military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, thinks that Pakistan’s hypersonic missile is likely the CM-400AKG. It was acquired five years ago for Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder jets. He further stated that the service’s release included a video showcasing the CM-400AKG missile.
“According to the missile’s manufacturer [Aviation Industry Corporation of China], the CM-400AKG can travel at hypersonic [Mach 5-plus] speeds,” he continued. “However, there has not been an independent assessment of this claim.”
“The missile may be instead a high-supersonic system” reaching speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 4.9, he added.
