Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
February 8, 2012
IWG Report 2009
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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Hatf 7
| Country: | Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | Babur |
| Class: | A/L/S/SuCm |
| Length: | 6.2 m |
| Diameter: | 0.52 m |
| Wingspan: | 2.5 m |
| Launch Weight: | 1500 kg |
| Payload: | 450 kg, HE or Nuclear 10 to 35 kT |
| Propulsion: | Turbojet |
| Range: | 700 km |
| Guidance: | INS/GPS, terrain reference, IIR |
| Status: | Development |
Details
The Hatf 7 is a short-range, air-, ground-, ship- and submarine-launched, turbojet powered, single warhead, cruise missile.
Development may have started in the 1990s as a response to the Indian cruise missile program. Little is known with certainty about the missile, but it seems to be based on the United States's RGM/UGM-109 Tomahawk. Some Tomahawk missiles may have been recovered and reverse-engineered by Pakistani engineers. The engine may be based on the Tomahawk, but it also seems likely that it is based on the Russian AS-15, the Russian SS-N-27 Club, or a Chinese turbojet design.
The missile is believed to have a length of 6.2 m, a diameter of 0.52 m, fold-out wings with a 2.5 m wingspan, a launch weight around 1500 kg and a payload of about 450 kg. The missile is capable of carrying either a nuclear payload between 10 and 35 kT or 450 kg worth of conventional explosives (HE unitary or submunitions). When the missile was first tested in 2005, it was announced that the missile had a range of 500 km. In 2007 the publicly announced range was increased to 700 km. Future improvements are expected to extend the missile's range to around 1000 km. Midflight guidance probably relies on INS with GPS or Glonass updates and a terrain-reference system; terminal guidance may use an infrared or active radar seeker. The missile can likely achieve an accuracy between 20 and 50 m CEP.
The known launch vehicles have all been mobile, land-based platforms. It is believed that air, ship, and submarine-launch versions will be developed in the future. Current design allows for a near-vertical launch, projecting the missile to a height of 600 m. Once the missile has reached 600 m, it turns over and travels on a level course between 100 and 200 m above ground, using an altimeter to stay parallel with the landscape.
Sources indicate that the first flight test was planned for August 2004, however the first confirmed flight test did not occur until August 2005. Subsequent tests were made in March 2006, March 2007, July 2007, December 2007, and February 2011. Production may have begun in 2006.
Footnotes
- Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 50, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2009), 117-118.
Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Cruise Missile
Pakistan is reporting the successful test of a Hatf VII (known as the "Babur") 700km-range cruise missile. The missile, after launching to a height of 600 meters from a ground-based (for now) vertical launch, then flips onto its side and travels between 100 and 200 meters from the ground. This is a highly maneuverable and 'terrain-hugging' cruise missile. The missile can carry up to 450 kilograms of conventional ordinance, or a nuclear payload between 10 and 35 kilotons.
» Cruise missile details: Hatf 7
Pakistan Test Fires Hatf-8 Cruise Missile
Pakistan today successfully test fired a new Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) termed the Hatf-8 (Ra'ad). The indigenously developed Ra'ad ("Thunder" in Arabic), is said to have a range of 350 kilometers, though there is speculation that this range might be extended. The missile is said to have a stealth design, to be as accurate as the Babur cruise missile, and have the capability to carry various types of warheads. The missile has been reportedly designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air platforms, providing these with a strategic stand off capability on land and at sea.
The Hatf-8 is a designation which has apparently not been previously used by Pakistan, and it seems uncertain if this is a genuinely new missile or a variation of the Hatf-7.
» More stories on: Testing - Foreign, Pakistan
» Cruise missile details: Hatf 7
