Pakistan on Saturday "successfully" test-fired a new air-launched cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead upto 350 km, the military said.
The missile named Hatf-8 (Raad) "can carry all types of warheads and has an accuracy comparable to Pakistan's longer Babur cruise missile," a statement from the army's inter-services public relations said.
"The indigenously developed Ra'ad (meaning 'Thunder' in Arabic), with a range of 350 km for now, has been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air platforms, providing these with a strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea," the statement said.
It said that the missile has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz congratulated the scientists and engineers involved in the development of the new national strategic capability, according to the statement.
Pakistan's defence will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, they said, and assured all support to Pakistan's strategic programme.
