Pakistan has made Ababeel and Shaheen-III missiles that will not be able to shoot down India’s S-400
But here we are talking about intermediate-range ballistic missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons
In mid-October 2023, Pakistan conducted the second successful test launch of the Ababeel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which is characterized by the ability to carry multiple nuclear warheads at once.
The declared test parameters indicate that the Pakistani Ababeel has a maximum range of up to 2,200 kilometers. The first test launch under the Ababeel program took place in April 2022, and all this testifies to Pakistan’s success in its own intermediate-range ballistic missile program. This is stated in the blog post of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The authors of this blog suggest that Pakistan may have received the necessary telemetry equipment for such tests, as well as a multi-axis chassis for a mobile launcher for the Ababeel missile, from China.
And that in parallel to the SLBM program, Pakistan also has a similar class of missile, the Shaheen-III, with a warhead with several nuclear warheads.
It also emphasizes that the Pakistani military began to place special emphasis on intermediate-range ballistic missiles as a means of delivering nuclear weapons after India ordered S-400 systems from Russia in 2018.
Deliveries of Russian S-400 air defense systems have narrowed Pakistan’s ability to use F-16 or Mirage 5 aircraft or subsonic Babur and Ra’ad cruise missiles as nuclear weapons delivery vehicles. That is why they relied on ballistic missiles, because India’s S-400s will not be able to cope with them.
The Military Balance 2023 indicates that Pakistan has up to 60 mobile launchers for subsonic CRBMs and SLBMs as nuclear weapons delivery vehicles.
