As Pakistan tests Fa’az, India’s homegrown Pralay moves toward induction

Within three days, India and Pakistan have each announced a missile test. India’s DRDO flight-tested the quasi-ballistic missile Pralay on Thursday, while Pakistan said on Tuesday that it had flight-tested Fa’az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile. The tests add to a busy autumn of launches that comes more than a year after the two countries’ brief but intense military conflict.

DRDO launched Pralay from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast at around 11.10 am. Instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, confirmed that all test objectives were fully met.

The test was part of user evaluation trials, held in the presence of DRDO, industry and Defence Forces representatives. The PIB said induction of the system has become imminent. Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, developed the missile with other DRDO laboratories, and Bharat Dynamics Limited produced it.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the missile’s advanced technologies would enhance the military’s technological capabilities and operational preparedness against emerging threats. Defence Secretary and DRDO Chairman Rajesh Kumar Singh congratulated the teams.

Pakistan: a run of tests since early October

Pakistan’s military media wing, ISPR, said Fa’az was launched on November 3. It was fired from a JF-17 and has a terminal guidance system for engaging aerial targets at longer ranges, Arab News reported. ISPR said the missile would improve the Air Force’s operational flexibility.

Fa’az follows two ground-based tests. On October 6 Pakistan test-launched an extended version of its Fatah-IV ground-launched cruise missile, Dawn reported. On October 13, ISPR announced a test of the extended-range Fatah-2, which it called a hypersonic ballistic missile that can defeat missile defences, Geo News reported. One analysis noted that Pakistan has not published the range or flight data to support those claims.

The tests are different in kind. Pralay is a surface-to-surface system nearing induction, while Fa’az is an air-launched missile for the Air Force. Neither government has linked its test to the other’s, and the timing alone doesn’t show that one answered the other.