Pakistan Joins Air-to-Air Missile Club With Successful Test Of Fa'az

The test is a major step toward Pakistan’s homegrown air-to-air missile capability, despite already fielding advanced Chinese weapons. Pakistan Joins Air-to-Air Missile Club With Successful Test Of Fa’az. PAF/screencap Pakistan has successfully flight-tested its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, marking a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to establish its own advanced aerial weapons industry.

The test of the Fa’az missile, announced by the Pakistani military alongside video footage of the event, puts the country among a relatively small group of nations developing their own air-to-air missile capabilities. A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 carrying a red-painted Fa’az-IIR missile ahead of the first launch of the weapon. PAF/screencap Pakistan’s military announced the successful test on November 3, describing Fa’az (Urdu for Victorious) as an indigenous weapon equipped with an advanced terminal guidance system capable of engaging aerial targets at longer ranges.

The accompanying footage shows the missile being launched from a pylon under the wing of a JF-17 Thunder fighter. Importantly, the weapon visible in the video is the Fa’az-IIR, the imaging infrared (IIR) version of the missile, rather than the separately developed active radar-guided Fa’az-RF variant. Senior Pakistani military officers, along with scientists and engineers involved in the program, witnessed the event.

The country’s senior civilian and military leadership later congratulated those involved.