ISLAMABAD, May 31: Pakistan on Thursday test-fired an air cruise missile, Hatf VIII (Ra’ad), which is capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.

The highlight of the test that was carried out to validate technical parameters of the missile was the successful use of fully automated Strategic Command and Control Support System, which enables the real-time monitoring of the flight path.

Besides being the fourth flight test of the Ra’ad, the test was also the fourth one featuring any of the missiles during the last five weeks. The other missiles tested were: Short-Range, Surface-to-Surface, Multi-Tube Missile Hatf IX (Nasr); Short- Range, Ballistic Missile Hatf III (Ghaznavi); and Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile Hatf IV (Shaheen-1A).

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the successful testing of the Automated Strategic Command and Control Support System had “enabled robust command and control capability of all strategic assets with round-the-clock situational awareness in a digitised network-centric environment for decision makers at the National Command Centre”.

The Ra’ad has a range of 350km and has been developed for launch from a variety of aerial platforms. All the tests so far have been conducted from Mirage fighters of Pakistan Air Force.

“The state-of-the-art Ra’ad Cruise Missile with stealth capabilities is a low-altitude, terrain-hugging missile with high manoeuvrability and can deliver nuclear and conventional warheads with pinpoint accuracy,” said the ISPR statement.

The Ra’ad is designed to launch aerial strikes against fixed enemy installations, including enemy command centres, radars, surface-to-air missile launchers, ballistic missile launchers and stationary warships, according to the statement.