Pakistan’s Minister of Defence (MoD) Khurram Dastgir Khan was quoted by the Russian News Agency RIA Novosti that Pakistan had begun negotiating with Russia for various big-ticket armaments, including T-90 main battle tanks (MBT), Su-35 fighters and unspecified air defence systems. Speaking to RIA, Khan stated: “The air defense system is another kind of weaponry in which we are interested in … we are negotiating, and when we complete it, we will be able to announce it.”[1]
The aspect about Pakistan being interested in Russian air defence systems is not new, RIA had learned as much in February 2017 from an unnamed high-level Pakistani military official.[2] Though the official had noted the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, it was mentioned as an interesting Russian system more so than something Pakistan would procure. In fact, the official had cautioned that procurement would ultimately “depend on [Pakistan’s] budget”.[3]
SHORAD & VSHORAD
Though Pakistan has an obvious gap in terms of high-altitude air defence coverage, it is likely that Pakistan is interested in a wider selection of Russian SAM systems, particularly mobile short-to-medium-range and very short-range air defence (VSHORAD) systems.
Pakistan has largely built its short-to-medium-range SAM complement, which is officially dubbed as the Low-to-Medium Air Defence System (LoMADS). The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) began its LoMADS process by procuring 10 Spada 2000 Plus batteries with 750 Aspide 2000 missiles in 2007 (in a €415 million deal with MBDA Italy).[4] These have been inducted. The Pakistan Army opted for the LY-80 (HQ-16) manufactured by the China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC) in 2015. Pakistan ordered nine HQ-16 batteries for $600 million, with the system formally entering service in March 2017.[5][6]
The Spada 2000 and HQ-16 offer engagement ranges of 25+ km and 40 km, respectively. One can assume that the LoMADS element has been addressed for the long-term through these two systems. During these programs, there have been reports of Pakistan seeking other SAM systems. In 2016, there had been reports of the Pakistan Army having a mobile SAM requirement, for which MBDA was reportedly pushing a mobile (i.e. truck-mounted) variant of the Spada 2000.[7] Moreover, the Pakistan Navy had even showed interest in the Denel Dynamics Umkhonto (range: 20 km) in 2016.[8]
The common-treads between the mobile Spada 2000 and Umkhonto are comparable range (20-25+ km) and mobility, which can be had by integrating the missile firing-unit to an 8×8 truck. But these reports are from 2016, so it is uncertain if they are still in motion, but Russia certainly has experience in developing a series of mobile short-range air defence systems (SHORAD). The Pantsir S1 is the most notable example in that it has a range that is directly comparable to the Spada 2000 and Umkhonto (i.e. 20 km) while also being mobile, particularly through an 8×8 truck (like the others) and a tracked armoured vehicle.
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