Pakistan tests first home-built Faaz air-to-air missile

Pakistan carried out a successful flight test of the Faaz, its first air-to-air missile developed at home, Inter-Services Public Relations said on Tuesday.

The military's media wing said the missile carries an advanced terminal guidance system and can strike enemy aerial targets at long range. ISPR called the test another addition to Pakistan's aerospace and defence capabilities.

According to the statement, the Faaz will significantly raise the operational capability of the Pakistan Air Force and make the country's overall defence system stronger. ISPR described the flight test as a demonstration of the technical ability, innovation and self-reliance of Pakistan's defence industry.

Senior officers of the armed forces attended the test, along with scientists and engineers who, ISPR said, played a key role in building the weapons system.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and the heads of the armed forces congratulated the scientists and engineers on the test, the statement said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi congratulated the nation in a separate statement. He said Pakistan's scientists and engineers had once again delivered something the country could be proud of, described the test as an important advance in the defence sector, and said the nation was proud of them.

The statement named the missile Faaz but gave no range, no site for the test and no exact date. It did not say which aircraft would carry the missile, whether it is in production, or when the air force expects to induct it.

It also did not say how long the missile had been under development or which organisations worked on it, beyond crediting scientists and engineers.

Aaj News reported the test on Tuesday afternoon. The report carried no further technical details of the missile or of the flight test.