Pakistan on Tuesday successfully conducted the flight test of Fa'az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile. The military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), described it as a significant advance in the country's aerospace and defence capabilities.
According to the ISPR statement, the missile carries a state-of-the-art terminal guidance system and can engage enemy aerial targets at longer ranges. Fa'az is expected to give the Pakistan Air Force greater operational flexibility and to strengthen the country's overall defence posture, the statement said.
The military said the test demonstrated the technical maturity, innovation and self-reliance of Pakistan's defence industry. Senior officers of the armed forces watched the launch alongside the scientists and engineers who developed the system.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the services chiefs congratulated the team.
The test comes weeks after the army test-launched an extended-range version of the Fatah-2 hypersonic ballistic missile on October 13. ISPR said the Fatah-2 ER uses advanced navigation and avionics and can penetrate enemy missile defences.