| Country: |
Pakistan |
| Associated Country: |
People's Republic of China |
| Alternate Name: |
Abdali |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Payload: |
Single warhead |
| Warhead: |
Nuclear, HE, chemical |
| Propulsion: |
Solid |
| Range: |
300 km |
| Status: |
Operational |
| In Service: |
1997 |
Details
The Hatf-2A system represents a substantial divergence away from the Hatf-2. It is very possible that despite the name, the missile system is wholly unrelated to the Hatf-1 and 2. Little is known about the Hatf-2A except that it bears little relation to the Hatf-2. It is likely that Hatf-2A is the Pakistani name for imported People’s Republic of China (PRC) M-11 missiles.
The M-11 is a short-range, road mobile, solid-propellant ballistic missile exported from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Like most PRC exports, it is identical to a PRC’s own deployed version, in this case the DF-11. The DF-11 is the PRC’s improvement upon the Russian ‘Scud B’. The original M-11 missiles have been phased out and replaced with the longer range but less destructive M-11A variant. As an improved Scud, M-11 is designed for deployment against fixed, large targets. Its range easily outdistances most conventional weapons, and the mobility obtained from a mobile launch vehicle allows it to be deployed during a military conflict. While it is insufficiently accurate to target individual military units, it is able to attack small areas such as military bases, airfields and cities. The original M-11 is 7.5 m in length, has a diameter of 0.8 m and a launch weight of 3,800 kg. It can carry an 800 kg warhead, which can be equipped with high explosive, chemical, sub-munitions, fuel-air explosive (FAE) or a nuclear yield of 2, 10 or 20 kT. It has a range that is supposedly 280 to 350 km (174 to 217 miles), within the limits of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and an accuracy of 600 m CEP.
The M-11A as deployed has a range of between 350 and 530 km (217 and 329 miles) with a 500 kg payload with the same potential warheads. It is 8.5 m in length, the diameter is 0.8 m, the launch weight is 4,200 kg and the payload is 500 kg. The lighter payload is the primary cause for the increased range. The previous combination of inertial and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) guidance has been supplemented by a new optical correlation terminal guidance system that has improved the accuracy to 200 m CEP.
The range of the Hatf-2A is 300 km (186 miles) and it can carry a wide range of warheads including nuclear weapons. If it is an M-11 variant, it is probably based on the original M-11 design. The missiles are currently deployed throughout the Pakistani-Indian border and are generally obscured in caves or other terrain features that may hide the missile and mobile launching system. They are likely deployed in converted Scud launch systems. The Hatf-2A has been in operation since 1997.
More information about the M-11 can be found in the description for the PRC CSS-7.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 42 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2005), 47-48, 135.
Pakistan Launches Hatf-2
March 31, 2005 :: Spacewar.com :: News
Ten days after the launch of a Shaheen-II missile, Pakistan today successfully tested the short-range, nuclear-capable Hatf-2 missile, also identified as “Abdali.” The Hatf-2 is believed to have a range of 180km; another version, the Hatf-2A (also called Abdali), has a range of 300km. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Pakistan
» Missile details: Hatf 2, Hatf 2A
