Reports: Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable missile

Pakistan test-fired a cruise missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, reports said Monday.

The Hatf-VII or Babur missile, which has a range of 435 miles, was test-fired from a specially equipped vehicle in an undisclosed location Monday, The Associated Press reported.


The statement said the missile had stealth features and could fly close to the ground.

The test was witnessed by Director General Strategic Plans Division Lt. Gen. Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Chairman Muhammad Irfan Burney of the National Engineering and Scientific Commission and senior military officers, according to the Pakistan’s Nation newspaper.

Pakistan and its nuclear-armed rival neighboring India routinely test different versions of their missiles. The two countries have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

More world stories from NBC News:

 

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

 

 

Discuss this post

Like a baby crying for attentionon queue.

  • 2 votes
Reply#1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:09 AM EDT

Pretty much. Pakistan's biggest problem is hardly India, and is simply Pakistan itself.

  • 8 votes
#1.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:26 AM EDT

No, the Middle East/North Africa, Austrailia, Tunisia, is testing President Obama's strength.

He must take a stance. The US cannot ignore the people there. They want to defy all that Western Society believes in, by brutal murder..

The horrible Dictators, replaced by the horrible new Dictators are just testing the will of the American people. We must take them seriously. No strength, means they will be on US soil very soon.

It it a Goal to take over the World, Iran being the Leader. Incite slaughters, riots, and murder. A fine way to literally believe in the KORAN and it's words.

The Old Winston Churchill, Master Statesman, would have stomped on them by now with his mean demeanor, and his foresight of what is going on in the World.

"Carry a Big Stick".

  • 3 votes
#1.2 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:08 PM EDT

Don't worry, it won't be too much longer until we are at war with Iran. We did the whole break-it and rebuild-it idea with Iraq and Afghanistan and more than likely won't go for any kind of occupation there. We also did theno flyzone with Libya and now it is a breeding ground for islamist militants. Our policy with Iran will probably be more like scorched earth and give them a real reason to hate the U.S. It's ok though, neither the U.S., Isreal, or Iran for that matter ratified that protocol in the Geneva Conventions.

    #1.3 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:00 PM EDT

    By the way Australia is hardly testing our strength or patience Marchant. Australia has been one of our top allies since WW2 and has supported us in pretty much every war we have been in since WW2. Just because a handful of Australian muslims protested outside the embassy there doesn't make Australia an enemy. If you followed that logic after 9/11 then every European country would also be our enemy because thousands took to the streets to protest our war with Iraq.

      #1.4 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:19 PM EDT

      Zim:

      Agreed, Austrailia is not our enemy. I included Austrailia, because there are similar riots going on there now.

      It is quite unusual that Muslims in this country would uprise to the point where it looks much like the Middle East/North Africa. Why?

      Hateful Islamists all over the World are telling their followers to make themselves heard.

      Did not mean to say Austrailian Muslims are amongst the worst of the worst, when it comes to Islamists terror, but the US should take heed. There are 30 countries right now in uprisings.

      Terrorism can happen anywhere. There is no respect by the Extremists. Apparently, the Muslims/Extremists are getting fully settled in the the Scandanavian Countries as well. A well- traveled Commercial Airline pilot who spends time there, says this is a real hotbed of potential conflicts by the Extremists. Beware; they are coming to get the entire world under their Shariah Law.

      • 1 vote
      #1.5 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:55 PM EDT

      My, my someone is feeling like a big boy now aren't they! You know, with the human family incapable of getting along, fighting, bickering, selfish and folks playing with their weapons of mass destruction here and there, we just might end up with a glowing red planet instead of a beautiful blue one. Ironically, Curiosity would be the last remaining greatest achievement of mankind in the end. Sitting safely on Mars. We would have ensured everything else was sent into oblivion eventually.

        #1.6 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:54 PM EDT
        Reply

        A range of 435 miles? Not all that useful, really; especially in that neighborhood. And not an indication of particular aeronautical prowess. Our original Tomahawk cruise missiles had a range of 1500 miles when first fielded over three decades ago, though stealth features weren't part of their design brief. Bottom line, this system can't launch from outside the range of retaliatory strikes or pre-emptive ones, either. A "specially equipped vehicle" sounds to me like a pretty ordinary wheeled TEL system; a soft and vulnerable target. Yawn...

        • 2 votes
        Reply#2 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:42 AM EDT

        They do have something in range of 2,000-2,500...still its not something new..

        • 1 vote
        #2.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:33 PM EDT

        GB-62811 Never heard of "short range" missiles?

        The US build MGM-52 Lance in use until 1992 had a range up to 75 miles, the Soviet/Russian 9K720 Iskander still in use has a range up to 250 miles, there are others based on ships or aircraft with similar short ranges, like Israel's Delilah or US AGM-158 JASSM and RGM-84 Harpoon.

        Missiles are designed for specific objectives, not all are supersonic, have long range or nuclear warheads.

          #2.2 - Thu Sep 20, 2012 9:39 AM EDT
          Reply

          This is a good start for Pakistan on their development of missiles. They need some nuclear weapons to defend themselves against any U.S. attacks on their country. Hopefully Iran will be able to defend itself against any Israeli or U.S. attacks as well. Like Obama said...these people have the right to express their religious beliefs and protect themselves from any western aggression.

          • 2 votes
          Reply#3 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:53 AM EDT

          If Pakistan is worried about US attacks on their country they would be much better served by not allowing terrorists to operate from safe havens there than by spending scarce resources (much of it supplied by the US) on developing nuclear warhead delivery systems.

            #3.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:42 AM EDT

            They have had nuclear weapons for many years.

              #3.2 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:29 PM EDT

              Thank you Obamabot, well said. If Israel would remove all settelments and go back to the 67 boarders there would be peace in the middle east.

                #3.3 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:52 PM EDT

                Parkerjoe,

                You might want to re-read ObamaBot's comment..I dont think you quite understood it (unless im being retarded and read too much into it)..and also..there will never be peace in the middle east..even if Israel did not exist, the middle east would be a violent @!$%#hole..one word..ISLAM..it is not an Israeli problem in that region..but an Islamic one.

                  #3.4 - Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:18 AM EDT
                  Reply

                  I don't think Israel is shaking at the knees....

                    Reply#4 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:53 AM EDT

                    It should be more2bits

                      #4.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:54 PM EDT
                      Reply

                      Next thing you know, they will try to bomb America. The Middle Eastern's already hate Americans. The United States government needs to halt these experiments quickly. Great, another war = more taxes, regardless who wins the election. Quit giving them aid and see if they have money to create nuclear weapons. They should feed their people, before spending money to make nuclear weapons. They rip apart their own country. What do you think they will do to America? This is really not good. I building me a bunk, so I can hide when the nuclear warhead comes this way.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#5 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:17 AM EDT

                      Uhhhh...Pakistan has been a nuclear power for something like a quarter-century now. That isn't a new phenomenon; they were a decade or so behind India which detonated its first warhead in 1974.

                      Bomb America, Amanda? With what? This delivery system isn't even close. They'd need a true ICBM with a range of at least 6000 miles for that, or a submarine-launched system of lesser range and the submarine to put it on. Both of those are so far out of Pakistan's technical abilities as to be laughable. Aid money? Doesn't matter; they already have a couple of hundred warheads which is more than plenty to deter any neighbors who might threaten them. The only way Pakistan or any other nuclear power in the Middle East or Central Asia could reasonably deliver a warhead to America would be to smuggle it on a container ship into a port. And we screen for radiological signatures at every major port, so it wouldn't get farther than that. It sucks to be you if you're in New York should that occur, but do you think that any nuclear power perpetrating such an act would survive the aftermath? Of course not; we'd turn any such nation into a slab of glowing green glass and they know it. Use of a nuclear weapon assumes an utterly irrational government, and no matter how much these folks may hate us they aren't suicidal on a national basis. And nations which want to survive restrain even the suicidal individuals among them when the stakes are that high.

                      Neither this weapon system nor Pakistani nukes in general are an existential threat to the United States.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#6 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:32 AM EDT
                      Reply

                      Question: if a country like Pakistan were to improvise a missile launcher on container ships, say one in the Atlantic, one in the Pacific and launch them, but instead of ground attack they do a high altitude burst for EMP attack against the US, and then sink the container ships to destroy the evidence, what would be our course of action?

                      Assuming of course all the electronics in the US are not fried. While pondering the question, ask yourself about no electrical power for hospitals or refrigeration, no transportation of fuel (including gasoline) or food would have on survival.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#7 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:47 AM EDT

                      Bombs wont solve any problem.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#8 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:09 PM EDT

                      A good start for restructuring the earth would be to make a big fishing hole our of Pakistan.

                      • 3 votes
                      Reply#9 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:28 PM EDT

                      Did they say, "Thank you to the US Citizen taxpayers for funding our weapons"?

                      Can we stop giving them money now? Money we have to borrow from China, etc....

                      Maybe it will blow up in their faces and blow them all from kingdom come.....then we can use that foreign aid money to help citizens of the United States.

                      • 1 vote
                      Reply#10 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:02 PM EDT

                      I am smarter, how about we quit giving Israel 9 billion ( yes billion) a year so that some of our old people don't have to eat cat food or can use their heater or air conditioning?

                        #10.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:00 PM EDT

                        Or we could keep that money flowing to protect a vital ally and take our aid away from the true enemy countries such as Egypt and Pakistan..

                          #10.2 - Tue Sep 18, 2012 3:20 AM EDT
                          Reply

                          Pakistan has money like other third world countries for missiles and nukes but when a disaster hits they cry for help.

                          Stop sending foreign aid.

                          • 3 votes
                          Reply#11 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:49 PM EDT

                          I totally agree Evis. We should stop giving money to Pakistan and stop issuing Visas to the Pakis to come here. No more money, no more Visas and no more apologies.

                            #11.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:18 PM EDT

                            GTR Israel gets 9 billion plus a year. Read "If Americans Only Knew" americans won't belive what Israel does to this country. It spends 46 million a year to change public opinion on the net. Please everyone check it out.

                              #11.2 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:04 PM EDT
                              Reply

                              Paki & India just don't like each other...
                              ...it would be a surprise if they didnt have a limited nuclear war within the next decade...

                              ...when that piss-ant country ran by Islamic extremists, Iran, gets the capability to launch a nuke, you will to gamble that they will hesitate?

                              Why does it seem like Prez-0's attitude is he is willing to take that chance?

                                Reply#12 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:16 PM EDT

                                Hey comrad I seen you on the jerusalem post and Haarzt

                                  #12.1 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 9:06 PM EDT
                                  Reply

                                  Just because they have the technology doesn't mean they can crack it. Russia obtained a B-52 stratofortress during the cold war, never did figure how the the plane was constructed.

                                  • 1 vote
                                  Reply#15 - Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:05 PM EDT

                                  maybe they can test anothr one and have it go off trget and into one of the crowds of protesters then they can blame the usa for faulty equipment these nut jobs need to get a life and i dont mean one here in the us theya are already taking too many american jobs we need to start deporting some of these pakis back to where they came from we sure as hell dont need them here

                                    Reply#16 - Wed Sep 19, 2012 1:09 PM EDT

                                    Moslems and Pakistanis in particular never have any love in their hearts.Please look at the latest news that proves Pakistani Army, their spy agency and their population are terrorists and have been for since beginning of time:

                                    Islamabad: A Pakistani minister today announced a bounty of USD 100,000 on the head of the maker of an anti-Islam film that has sparked violent protests, shocking many people with his announcement.

                                    Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, who heads the Railway Ministry, said the reward would be given to the person who kills the filmmaker.

                                    He contended there was no other way to protest and instill fear among blasphemers than to murder of the filmmaker.

                                    He also called on members of the banned Taliban and Al Qaeda for their support, saying members of these organizations too will be rewarded if they eliminate the maker of the blasphemous film.

                                    Mr Bilour's announcement, made during a news conference in the northwestern city of Peshawar, caused consternation as he belongs to the secular Awami National Party (ANP) that rules Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and is part of the ruling coalition at the centre.

                                    Political leaders expressed shock at his remarks as the Taliban has killed scores of workers and leaders of the ANP.

                                    His remarks came a day after violent protests across Pakistan resulted in 23 deaths and destruction of property worth billions of rupees.

                                    Surprisingly, Mr Bilour acknowledged that he was committing a crime by instigating people to murder but said he was prepared to be a criminal for this cause.

                                    "If there is a case lodged against me in an international court or in this country's courts, I will ask people to hand me over to (foreign countries)... I want to show these countries that we will not tolerate such things," he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani media.

                                    At least 30 people have died so far in unrest connected to the film in over 20 countries. More than 20 people have been killed in violent protests in Pakistan.

                                    • 1 vote
                                    Reply#17 - Sat Sep 22, 2012 12:18 PM EDT
                                    You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
                                    As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.