Shaheen 1 (Hatf 4)


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The Shaheen 1 (Hatf 4) is a Pakistani-Chinese short-range ballistic missile. It can launch a payload of 700 – 1,000 kg to ranges of up to 700 km, and its extended-range variant, the Shaheen 1A, ranges up to 900 km. The missile was developed with Chinese technical assistance, and analysts suggest its design may derive from China’s DF-15 system.1

Shaheen 1 (Hatf 4) at a Glance

Originated from
China/Pakistan
Possessed by
Pakistan
Class
Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM)
Basing
Road-mobile
Length
12.0 m
Diameter
1.0 m
Launch weight
9,500 kg
Payload
700 – 1,000 kg
Warhead
35 kT nuclear, HE, submunitions, chemical
Propulsion
Single-stage solid propellant
Range
750 km, 900 km (1A variant)
Status
Operational
In service
2003 – Present

Shaheen 1 Development

Pakistan began developing the Shaheen 1 in 1993, and first displayed the missile in March 1999. The system’s first publicly-acknowledged flight test took place in April 1999, though testing may have begun as early as July 1997.2 Subsequent tests took place in October 2002, October 2003, December 2004, November 2006, January 2008, and May 2010. The missile entered service with Pakistan Army Strategic Force Command in March 2003.

Pakistan developed the Shaheen 1 with Chinese technical assistance, having obtained 34 M-11 (DF-11) missiles from China in 1991.3 China also assisted Pakistan in constructing an assembly plant for the M-11 missile. While the 0.8m-diameter, 300km-class M-11 formed the basis for Pakistan’s Ghaznavi SRBM, analysts suggest that the Shaheen 1 may derive from China’s 1m-diameter, 600-900km-class M-9 (DF-15) solid-fueled missile. However, it is unclear what degree of technical assistance Pakistan received and whether Pakistan took delivery of complete M-9 missiles from China.4

Specifications

The Shaheen 1 is roughly 12 m long, 1 m in diameter, and weighs 9,500 kg at launch. It can range 750 km while carrying a single high-explosive, chemical, or 35 kt nuclear warhead payload weighing up to 1,000 kg. It employs a single-stage, solid propellant engine and features an estimated accuracy of 200 m CEP.5 It is guided by an inertial navigation system, and employs a “post separation attitude correction system” to increase its accuracy and potentially complicate interception.6

Shaheen 1A

The Shaheen 1A is an extended-range variant of the original Shaheen missile, with an estimated 900 km range.7 Pakistan first test launched the Shaheen 1A on April 25, 2012, impacting in the Indian Ocean.8 Three additional flight tests took place on November 17, 2015, December 15, 2015, and March 26, 2021. 9

Footnotes

    1. Rodney W. Jones, Minimum Nuclear Deterrence Postures in South Asia: An Overview, (Washington, DC: Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 2001), https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA460305.pdf; T.V. Paul, “Chinese-Pakistani Nuclear/Missile Ties and the Balance of Power,” The Nonproliferation Review, Summer 2003, https://www.nonproliferation.org/wp-content/uploads/npr/102paul.pdf
    2. “Pakistan,” Nuclear Threat Initiative, April 2016, http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/pakistan/delivery-systems/; “Hatf 4 (Shaheen 1), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 74.
    3. “Hatf 4 (Shaheen 1), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 73; Richard Fisher Jr., “Pakistan’s Long Range Ballistic Missiles: A View From IDEAS,” International Assessment and Strategy Center, November 1, 2004, http://www.strategycenter.net/research/pubid.47/pub_detail.asp; Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 63.
    4. Timothy V. McCarthy, A Chronology of PRC Missile Trade and Developments, (Monterey, CA: Monterey Institute of International Studies, February 12, 1992), https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA338725.pdf.
    5. Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 63; “Hatf 4 (Shaheen 1), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 73-74.
    6. Richard Fisher Jr., “Pakistan’s Long Range Ballistic Missiles: A View From IDEAS,” International Assessment and Strategy Center, November 1, 2004, http://www.strategycenter.net/research/pubid.47/pub_detail.asp.
    7. Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 63; Paul K. Kerr and Mary Beth Nikitin, “Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation and Security Issues,” Congressional Research Service, RL34248, May 10, 2012, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb388/docs/EBB035.pdf; “Pakistan,” Nuclear Threat Initiative, April 2016, http://www.nti.org/learn/countries/pakistan/delivery-systems/
    8. “Pakistan successfully test fires Hatf IV ballistic missile, Dawn, April 25, 2012, https://www.dawn.com/news/713299/pakistan-successfully-test-fires-hatf-iv-ballistic-missile.
    9. Press release PR-254/2014-ISPR, Inter Services Public Relations, Pakistan Armed Forces, November 17, 2014, https://ispr.gov.pk/press-release-detail.php?id=2707; Mateen Haider, “Pakistan successfully test-fires Shaheen 1-A ballistic missile,” Dawn, December 15, 2015, https://www.dawn.com/news/1226532; Naveed Siddiqui, “Pakistan successfully test-fires Shaheen 1-A ballistic missile, Dawn, March 26, 2021, https://www.dawn.com/news/1614737/pakistan-successfully-test-fires-shaheen-1-a-ballistic-missile.
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Missile Defense Project, "Shaheen 1 (Hatf 4)," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 16, 2016, last modified April 23, 2024, https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/hatf-4/.