Last week, the Pakistan Army declared that it added the HQ-9/P long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system to its integrated air defence system. With a stated range of at least 100 km, the HQ-9/P closes the Army’s extensive air defence modernization efforts over the past five-plus years. Today, the Army deploys a multi-layered air defence network consisting of short-range, medium-range, and long-range SAMs plus its traditional staple of anti-air guns and man-portable air-defence systems (MANPAD).
Overall, the Army is employing its air defence system for protecting key installations and other high-value targets (HVT). The HQ-9/P creates a threat for targets flying at high-altitudes at long-range. However, even if these opposing aircraft fly under the HQ-9/P’s coverages, they would have to contend with the medium-range LY-80 and short-range FM-90 at those lower altitudes. Thus, the set-up is comprehensive, albeit in terms of defending fixed assets; but that only covers one part of the anti-air warfare (AAW) requirement.
The Pakistan Army still has one key area of its anti-air umbrella it needs to full – the acquisition of a mobile short-range air defence system (SHORAD).
The military dynamics of South Asia are advancing and, at least in India, they have reached a point where air power is an integral piece of land-based operations. The Indian Army’s ‘integrated battle group’ (IBG) concept, for example, incorporates utility and attack helicopters for close air support (CAS). These aircraft will carry a credible threat to Pakistani armour through anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). In addition, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy an area-wide anti-armour capability through the CBU-105 Sensor-Fuzed Weapon munition. Each CBU-105 carries 40 dual-infrared and laser-guided top-attack munitions (Skeets) that can independently target tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and other armoured vehicles.
Combined, these airborne threats present a significant problem for the Pakistan Army’s formations both from a defensive and offensive standpoint. Ideally, the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Air Force (PAF) would collaborate to build a joint-air-and-land solution that could both counter and emulate India’s model.
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