Though initially developed to deliver nuclear warheads, the Ghaznavi and Babur-series of surface-to-surface missiles (SSM) could become key conventional strike assets.
On 07 January 2021, Pakistan’s ISPR announced that the Pakistan Army test-fired an indigenous MLRS – Fatah-1 – with a range of 140 km.
On 22 September 2020, the Pakistan Army showed-off a newly acquired VT4 main battle tank (MBT) at its Field Firing Ranges near Jhelum. It confirmed that it will induct the VT4 tank.
On 28 July 2020, the Pakistan Army’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT) delivered a batch of al-Khalid-I main battle tanks (MBT).
Pakistan’s reported VT-4 purchase is a stopgap measure in response to India’s T-90MS acquisition, but its effectiveness is debateable and Pakistan’s wider MBT modernisation options limited.
China’s state-owned NORINCO announced that it will deliver two customized VT4 main battle tanks to an undisclosed customer. Reports suggest that the VT4s are meant for the Pakistan Army, which may have committed to ordering approximately 300 such tanks in 2018.
The Pakistan Armed Forces has deficiency in tank numbers and is attempting to find ways to mitigate this deficiency. Among the solutions is to increase local production and up-gradation of tanks.
On 05 December 2019, the Pakistan Army’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa observed a training exercise involving an Army Strike Corps in Bahawalpur, Punjab.
According to the Ministry of Defence Production’s (MoDP) 2017-2018 yearbook, Pakistan’s Directorate General Defence Purchase (DGDP) ordered Kornet anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for $62.46 m US.
In recent years, the Pakistan Army has been evaluating new generation main battle tanks, such as VT-4, under the “Haider” program. But why?