The Pakistan air force has conducted a successful test launch of the locally developed Taimoor air-launched cruise missile (ALCM).
Video posted on social media shows a Dassault Aviation Mirage IIIE taking off with a test example of the weapon on its centreline station and then releasing it during flight.
The missile is then shown in flight and impacting a target on the ground. The milestone was achieved on 3 January.
According to Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) agency, the weapon can strike a target with “high precision” at a range of 324nm (600km).
“Equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation and guidance system, Taimoor is designed to fly at very low altitudes, enabling it to effectively evade hostile air and missile defence systems,” says the ISPR.
“Its precision-strike capability significantly enhances the conventional deterrence and operational flexibility of [the] Pakistan air force, further strengthening the country’s overall defence posture.”
The Taimoor was developed by the Air Weapons Complex of Pakistan.
Pakistan is already understood to operate a long-range ALCM in the form of the Ra’ad-II and Ra’ad I weapons, which can be carried by Mirage fighters as well as by the Chengdu/Pakistan Aeronautical Complex JF-17.
