The Abdali (Hatf 2) is a short-range, road-mobile, solid propellant missile that entered service in 2005.1
Abdali (Hatf 2) at a Glance
- Originated from
- Pakistan
- Possessed by
- Pakistan
- Class
- Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM)
- Basing
- Road-mobile
- Length
- 6.5 m
- Diameter
- 0.56 m
- Launch weight
- 1,750 kg
- Payload
- Single warhead, 250 – 450 kg
- Warhead
- HE, submunitions, conventional
- Propulsion
- Single-stage solid propellant
- Range
- 180 – 200 km
- Status
- Operational
- In service
- 2005 – present
Hatf 2 Development
The Hatf 2 was originally designed as a two-stage version of the Hatf 1, and was essentially a solid propellant stage attached to the bottom of a Hatf 1. However, those plans were discarded, and a new single-stage standalone design was created in 1997.
The Hatf 2 featured increased range over the Hatf 1. Its relatively small warhead limits its destructive capability, but its accuracy is sufficient to target military bases and airfields, or critical infrastructure such as power plants and industrial facilities. As displayed in military parades, it is carried on a road mobile Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle.2 The use of solid propellant and the TEL vehicle make the missile easy to store, transport and fire.
Specifications
The Hatf 2 measures 6.5 m in length, 0.56 m in diameter, and weighs 1,750 kg at launch. It can range 180-200 km while carrying a variable 250-450 kg warhead. It likely carries a high explosive or submunition payload. The Hatf 2 is equipped with an inertial guidance system and has a CEP of 150 m. It uses a single-stage solid propellant engine.3
Footnotes
- “Hatf 2 (Abdali), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 71.
- Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 62.
- “Hatf 2 (Abdali), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 71.