August 26, 2007 Sunday Sha’aban 12, 1428
N-capable cruise missile test-fired
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: Pakistan on Saturday successfully test-fired a new nuclear-capable air-launched cruise missile “Hatf-8” (Ra’ad).
The indigenously-developed Ra’ad, meaning thunder in Arabic, has a range of 350 kilometres and has been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan’s air platforms, providing these with a strategic standoff capability on land and at sea.
A statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations said the missile had a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials. The Ra’ad can carry all types of warheads and has accuracy comparable to Pakistan’s longer-range cruise missile “Babur”.
The president and the prime minister congratulated the scientists and engineers involved in the development of the new national strategic capability.
Pakistan successfully test fired a new cruise missile on Saturday that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

The announcement was made by the nation's military in a statement, saying that the air-launched Ra'ad (meaning 'thunder' in Arabic) missile has been successfully tested. The missile is constructed using materials and designs specifically developed for stealth and has a range of 350 kilometres, they said.

The missile was developed exclusively in Pakistan, and, according to the statement, has been built specifically with Pakistan's existing air force platforms in mind, in order to give these 'a strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea,'. The statement also said that the missile's accuracy was comparable to Pakistan's long-range Babur missile, and that the missile is capable of carrying "all types of warheads".

Both the Pakistani prime minister, Shaukat Aziz and the president, Pervez Musharraf, congratulated the team of scientists and engineers who developed the new technology. "Pakistan's defense will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, they said, and assured all support to Pakistan's strategic program," according to the army.