Editor’s note (29 April 2026): This profile was updated with details on the Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC), the Fatah-I’s combat use during the 2025 conflict with India, the Fatah-II’s first ARFC training launch, and the Fatah family’s role in Pakistan’s evolving precision-strike architecture.
The Fatah-series, developed by Pakistan’s National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and marketed by Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS), is a family of guided rocket systems designed to enhance the Pakistan Army’s (PA) stand-off range precision-strike capabilities.
These systems, ranging from the Fatah-I to the Fatah-IV, are tailored for both tactical and strategic applications alike, enabling deep penetration strikes into enemy territory. Following the formation of the Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) in August 2025, the Fatah family now forms the backbone of the PA’s dedicated conventional precision-strike arm.
The Fatah-I was employed in combat during the 2025 conflict with India, marking the first operational use of any Fatah-series munition. On 28 April 2026, the ARFC conducted a training launch of the Fatah-II, signalling the missile’s transition from development to operational deployment within the ARFC’s inventory.
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History of the GIDS Fatah
The introduction of the Fatah-series reflects Pakistan’s growing emphasis on indigenous defense production and self-reliance. Both systems were developed under GIDS’ leadership as part of a broader strategy to modernize rocket artillery capabilities.
The transition from unguided systems like the Yarmouk-series to guided platforms such as the Fatah-series underscores a doctrinal shift toward precision engagement and standoff capabilities.
The Fatah-I was unveiled in January 2021, followed by the Fatah-II in 2023. The Fatah-III designation was initially assigned to a 450 km-range missile, but this design was subsequently re-designated as the Abdali Missile System. In August 2025, the PA revealed the Fatah-IV as a 750 km-range land-attack cruise missile (LACM), derived from the strategic Babur GLCM platform. The “Fatah” designation now broadly signifies conventional long-range surface-to-surface missiles, encompassing both ballistic and cruising variants.
Fatah Missile Specifications
Fatah-I GMLRS
The Fatah-I was unveiled on January 7, 2021, by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as the country’s first indigenously developed Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). It marked a shift from conventional unguided artillery systems to precision-guided rockets, enabling the Pakistan Army to engage targets “deep in enemy territory” with high accuracy.
Technical Specifications
- Type: Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS)
- Range: 70–140 km
- Accuracy: CEP ≤ 15 m
- Warhead Type: Blast fragmentation
- Rockets per Launcher: 8 rockets per MLV (Multiple Launch Vehicle)
- Operating Temperature: -20°C to +55°C
The development of the Fatah-I likely originated from a Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) program disclosed in 2015-16 to create an “extended-range” MLRS. While earlier systems like the A-100 MLRS (a Chinese-origin system locally produced under license) had a range of 100 km, the Fatah-I extended this capability to 140 km.
The Fatah-I employs GPS/INS guidance for precision targeting and can engage up to eight different targets within an 8×8 km area at maximum range.
The Fatah-I was the first Fatah-series weapon to see combat, having been deployed during the 2025 conflict with India. Its operational use validated the PA’s precision-strike doctrine and reinforced the case for expanding the ARFC’s inventory.
Fatah-II SSM
The Fatah-II was revealed in 2023 as an evolution of the Fatah-I, featuring significant enhancements in range and capability.
Officially inducted into service in early 2024, the Fatah-II introduced a twin-canister launcher system and a larger missile design capable of reaching targets up to 400 km away (domestic variant).
Technical Specifications
- Type: Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM)
- Range: 100–290 km (export variant); 400 km (domestic variant)
- Accuracy: CEP ≤ 50 m
- Warhead Weight: 365 kg
- Warhead Type: Unitary blast or blast fragmentation
- Diameter: 600 mm
- Length: 7.5 m
- Propulsion: Single-stage dual-thrust solid rocket motor
- Launcher Configuration: Twin-canister oblique-launch system on 8×8 wheeled chassis
Unlike the Fatah-I, the Fatah-II incorporates advanced technologies such as a supersonic glide vehicle that separates from its propulsion system in the upper atmosphere. GIDS describes the Fatah-II as a supersonic, non-ballistic missile with “all-course manoeuvre” capability, meaning it can execute evasive manoeuvres throughout its flight – not solely during the terminal phase. This makes it more resilient against missile defence systems.
The Fatah-II uses integrated INS+GNSS navigation and offers programmable trajectory options for precision strikes. Its twin-canister launcher configuration supports salvo or non-salvo modes, enabling rapid deployment and flexible operational use.
On 28 April 2026, the ARFC conducted a training launch of the Fatah-II – the first publicly acknowledged firing since the ARFC’s formation and the 2025 conflict. The launch was framed as a “training launch” rather than a developmental test, suggesting that the Fatah-II has moved beyond the testing phase and is now an operational system within the ARFC’s deployed inventory.
Fatah-IV Ground-Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) / Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM)
On 12 August 2025, the PA revealed the Fatah-IV as a LACM/GLCM with a range of 750 km. This is a conventional variant of the Babur-series LACM/GLCM, which has, thus far, been used for strategic deterrence purposes.
Technical Specifications
- Range: 750 km
- Mass: 1,530 kg
- Length: 7.5 m
- Speed: Mach 0.7
- Accuracy: 5 m CEP
- Minimum Flight Altitude: 50 m
- Warhead Type: Blast Fragmentation
- Warhead Weight: 330 kg
The Fatah-IV offers a distinct attack vector suited to higher-value, heavily defended targets such as air defence radars or airfields, complementing the ballistic nature of the Fatah-I and Fatah-II through low-altitude, terrain-hugging flight.
Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC)
In August 2025, the PA formally raised the Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) as a dedicated arm to manage its growing arsenal of conventional guided rockets and missiles. The ARFC was built to give the PA an independent long-range strike capability – one that does not depend on the Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) aircraft availability, air base integrity, or air superiority.
The Fatah family constitutes the ARFC’s disclosed strike portfolio. Together, the Fatah-I (140 km), Fatah-II (400 km), and Fatah-IV (750 km) provide the PA with a layered conventional strike capability spanning 140 km to 750 km – covering targets from forward-deployed formations to deep-rear infrastructure.
The Fatah-I and Fatah-II – both rocket-powered, supersonic systems – can be used for saturation strikes in salvo attacks against ammunition depots, command posts, or entrenched positions. The Fatah-IV, being a subsonic cruise missile with a terrain-hugging flight profile, would offer a distinct attack vector suited to higher-value, more heavily defended targets.
Common-Platform Architecture and Production Scaling
The Fatah family’s significance extends beyond the PA. As Quwa has analyzed in detail, the Fatah-II and the Pakistan Navy’s (PN) SMASH anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) appear to share a common 600 mm-diameter core platform. Similarly, the Fatah-IV GLCM and the PN’s Harbah-NG anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM) are both derived from the strategic Babur LACM platform.
By standardizing multiple missile families onto a common platform, NESCOM can consolidate its supply chain, amortize development costs across larger production runs, and streamline logistics. This platform standardization is critical because the shift from producing small numbers of strategic weapons to sustaining large-scale conventional inventories – of the kind the ARFC and PN require – demands a fundamentally different industrial throughput.
As Quwa has noted, the most feasible near-term pathway to scaling Fatah output involves tighter supply-chain integration with China, which holds a production capacity surplus in key missile component categories. NESCOM would retain control of the final design and integration, while sourcing critical inputs from Chinese suppliers at bulk pricing. Over the longer term, a gradual localization effort – starting with simpler downstream inputs and moving up the value chain – is expected to follow.
The Fatah Family in Pakistan’s Precision-Fire Doctrine
The Fatah family sits within the PA’s broader shift towards an integrated precision-fire and precision-strike strategy. The general idea behind this doctrine is to deploy sooner, neutralize targets faster, and reach farther through a wider array of platforms.
Within this framework, the Fatah-I and Fatah-II occupy the ‘precision-strike’ tier – designed for longer-range engagements intended to achieve broader tactical or strategic effects. Meanwhile, the PA is also developing the Tipu 155 mm guided artillery shell and Nishana precision-guidance kits (PGK) for existing unguided munitions, which serve the shorter-range ‘precision-fire’ layer.
The PA has also prototyped an Integrated Battlefield Management System (IBFMS) intended to unify the Army’s targeting and fire-direction systems, connecting PAKFIRE (artillery), PAK-IBMS “Rehbar” (armour), and tactical data links into a single operational picture. A detailed demand tracker analysis of the PA’s precision-fire networking needs is available for further reading.
Recent Developments
- January 2021: Fatah-I GMLRS unveiled by ISPR as Pakistan’s first indigenously developed guided MLRS.
- December 2023: Fatah-II first tested.
- Early 2024: Fatah-II officially inducted into the Pakistan Army’s inventory.
- May 2025: Fatah-I deployed in combat during the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.
- August 2025: Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) formally raised to manage the PA’s guided rocket and missile arsenal.
- August 2025: Fatah-IV LACM/GLCM revealed with a range of 750 km.
- November 2025: PN successfully test-fires SMASH ASBM, which shares a common platform with the Fatah-II.
- April 2026: PN tests extended-range SMASH ASBM from a Babur-class corvette.
- 28 April 2026: ARFC conducts first training launch of the Fatah-II, confirming the missile’s operational status.
Learn More
Pakistan Test-Fires Fatah-II Missile: What the ARFC Training Launch Means
Demand Tracker: The Pakistan Army’s Precision-Fire Networking Needs
Beyond Nuclear: Pakistan’s Quiet Shift to Mass-Produced Conventional Strikes
Pakistan’s New Fatah-IV Missile Signals New Conventional Strike Strategy
Rawalpindi’s New Escalation Doctrine: Army Rocket Force Command is Built for One Reason
GIDS Nishana PGK: The Low-Cost Tech Breathing New Life into Old Munitions
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