Introduction
On 02 February, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) announced that it established an instrumented Weapon Test Range (WTR) at the Sonmiani Firing Range. This is an important induction for the PAF – and the Pakistani armed forces as a whole – for evaluating, qualifying and certifying munitions. In a statement, the PAF said the “facility, developed in collaboration with Chinese authorities, is equipped with real-time tracking and measuring equipment to qualify the indigenously developed and procured weapon systems.”[1] Showcasing the WTR’s real-time tracking capabilities, the PAF had a JF-17 Thunder multi-role fighter test-fire a SD-10 beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile (AAM) and a PL-5EII within-visual-range (WVR) AAM over the WTR.[2] Under Project Azm (Resolve), the PAF committed itself – through Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) and the Aviation Design Institute (AvDI) – to domestically produce ‘advanced’ munitions.[3] Pakistan’s new – and its first – instrumented WTR will serve an integral role for not only Project Azm, but munitions development and procurement in the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy as well.
Background: Sonmiani Firing Range
Sonmiani (also spelt Somiani) is located in Sindh, northwest of Pakistan’s commercial capital and principal port city Karachi. The site began its role as an instrumented firing range with the Rehbar-I sounding rocket fired by the Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).[4] Since then, Sonmiani has been Pakistan’s principal firing range for tactical and strategic munitions testing.
The Strategic Plans Division (SPD) has been using Sonmiani to test-fire its medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM), such as the Shaheen II.[5] The Army, Navy and Air Force use Sonmiani regularly to examine their respective inventories in offensive (e.g. strike), but defensive terms (e.g. air defence).[6][7] Located at the south and along the Arabian Sea, Sonmiani is accessible for tests relevant to Pakistan’s conventional warfare environment. First, access to the sea enables the Pakistan Navy to examine sea-to-land (and vice-versa) scenarios, most notably the deployment of naval land-attack cruise missiles (LACM) such as the Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) and Harba dual-anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM)/LACM. Second, the desert environment is applicable to Pakistan’s land warfare conditions, namely for its armour.
Sonmiani Instrumented Weapon Test Range
The PAF did not disclose the Sonmiani WTR’s specific systems, but an instrumented range such as this may include optical-tracking systems, telemetry systems, radars, meteorological station and command, control and communication station. Although Pakistan built its WTR through the Chinese, Sonmiani’s position as a test-site for each of the service arms and SPD could indicate a comprehensive instrumentation set. In this vein, South Africa’s Overberg Test Range – built and managed by Denel Group – could be a plausible template of what to expect from the Sonmiani WTR as it too is meant for comprehensive testing purposes.
The Overberg WTR is equipped to simultaneously track five flying objects, enabling the facility to readily track the munition, launch platform and the target drone.[8] This enables the Overberg WTR to examine – in real-time – the elements affecting each factor in the munition’s launch and engagement process. For example, the WTR can validate an anti-radiation missile’s (ARM) effective range when deployed at low or high-altitude. This validation can feed into the ARM’s qualification prior to induction. The Overberg WTR is capable of tracking air-to-air missile (AAM), air-to-surface missile (ASM), surface-to-air missile (SAM), surface-to-surface missile (SSM) and even anti-tank guided-missile (ATGM) as well as artillery shell tests.[9]
Based on the multimedia released by the PAF, it appears that the Sonmiani WTR uses a cinetheodolite (i.e. an electro-optical) system, instrumentation radar(s) and telemetry system. It is unclear if Pakistan has other systems in place, such as a meteorological station. However, considering that Sonmiani is the main – and effectively, the only – area where aerial instrumentation tests have been known to occur, be it from the nascent space program to the strategic weapons program, it would make sense that Pakistan would invest enough to ensure that the Sonmiani WTR is an industry-standard facility. The investment made in this one facility will enable savings (by not having to undertake detailed instrumentation tests abroad) on practically every munitions program, from evaluating imports to development to qualification work.
In terms of the specific systems in use at the Sonmiani WTR: The cinetheodolite (i.e. EO system) collects the target’s trajectory data through video recording. Its purpose is to enable the evaluation of the flying object’s flight performance or characteristics. Pakistan did not disclose the specifications of the Sonmiani WTR cinetheodolite.[10]
The Sonmiani WTR has at least two telemetry stations, each with what appears to be a receiving antenna. The telemetry station’s purpose is to receive, record, compile and relay the data produced by the test. An essential piece to a WTR is the instrumentation radar. It is unclear if the Sonmiani WTR is equipped with one, but it is likely to be in place considering that it is used to detect and track the flying objects being tested with the aim of determining key metrics, such as range and velocity. In some cases, the testing team may equip the launch platform, target drone and munition with transponders, so as to guarantee that the correct objects are being measured. Finally, a meteorological station is required for determining the desired weather (e.g. temperature, humidity, etc) scenarios for a test.
Domestic Munitions Development
Traditionally, Pakistan had been unenthusiastic of domestic munitions development and production. The rationale for not pursuing such programs stemmed from various factors. First, the lack of scale to justify the expense of production. Prior to the Harba ASCM, the Pakistan Navy imported its ASCMs – i.e. the French Exocet, US Harpoon and Chinese C-802 – in small batches. However, as the Navy’s fleet of delivery platforms grows, as will its required inventory of munitions. Thus, the scale will be in place. In the case of ASCMs specifically, the inputs used for all cruise missile types (be it land, air or sea-launched) could be re-used. In other words, the investment for locally producing guidance suites, flight control systems and the miniature powerplant can be scaled across an extensive and long-term production run.
Second, Pakistan may have also begun responding to the increasing difficulty it is having procuring new technology off-the-shelf. In 2007, the PAF intended to equip the JF-17 with the Thales RC-400 radar and MBDA MICA BVRAAM. The prospective armament contract was worth €1.2 billion, but Paris decided to prioritize a sale of Rafale fighters (and other potential big-ticket deals) to India.[11] Today, the PAF is adamant in its stance of the Chinese KLJ-7A and SD-10 fulfilling its needs, it had apparently viewed the RC-400 and MICA were better (evident in the fact that it pursued those in the first place). If not for India, the French course would have also been costly, especially in terms of foreign/hard-currency loss. Pakistan had also spent €415 million for 10 Spada 2000-Plus batteries with 750 missiles from MBDA Italy.[12]
Had the JF-17 program with France gone through, it would have amounted to €1.6 billion in hard-currency expenditure (note: these are 2007 rates, which was $2.3 billion US). Not only is there the cost of procuring the technology, but services costs as well in the form of integration, testing, qualification and after-sale support set by the original equipment supplier. The hard-currency spent on these imports could have been spent on domestic facilities and controlling the supply of these munitions, refurbishing them and, potentially, packaging them with JF-17 sales to other countries. Like cruise missiles, some AAM inputs – such as single-stage and dual-stage rocket motors – can be scaled to apply in other areas, such as SAM and ARM (enabling the domestic procurement of these would save on hard-currency expenditure). Simply put, persistently importing such munitions is not sustainable, and Pakistan could pivot to rectify the issue.
The establishment of an instrumented WTR at Sonmiani is the surest indication yet of Pakistan staging the course for domestic munitions development and production. It was the PAF that announced its intention to do so under Project Azm, but it was the Pakistan Navy that began executing programs. In January 2018, the Navy announced the successful test-firing of its Harba dual-ASCM/LACM. Although the Harba is likely a component of Naval Strategic Forces Command – i.e. enabling a surface-based naval deterrent to couple the sub-surface Babur 3 SLCM – the Harba’s anti-ship warfare (AShW) capability speaks to a tactical role.[13]
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