The Babur (Hatf 7) is a Pakistani ground-launched cruise missile. In upgraded forms, it has a range of up to 700 km and can deliver nuclear and conventional payloads.¹

Babur Development

Pakistan began developing the Babur missile in the 1990s in response to India’s nascent cruise missile program. In a surprise to the U.S. intelligence community, Pakistan first tested the system in August 2005. Pakistan has conducted at least ten Babur flight tests through July 2014. The system reportedly entered service in 2010. The known launch vehicles have all been mobile, land-based platforms. Pakistan began testing a submarine-launched Babur variant, the Babur-III, in 2017.²

Specifications

The Babur is approximately 6.2 m long, 0.52 m in diameter, and possesses a 2.5 m wingspan. With a launch weight around 1,500 kg, it is capable of carrying a 450 kg payload 350 – 700 km. The missile is vertically launched with a solid-propellant rocket booster and employs a turbofan engine for its subsonic cruising flight. According to Pakistani officials, the missile features a terrain contour matching guidance system, and upgraded variants feature additional digital scene matching and satellite guidance. It can be equipped with either a single 10 or 35 kT nuclear warhead, or up to 450 kg worth of conventional explosives (HE unitary or submunitions).³

The Babur missile comes in several disclosed variants. On its inaugural flight test, Pakistani authorities disclosed a 500 km range estimate for the missile, and in 2012, Pakistan claimed that the baseline system could reach a 700 km range.⁴ Contemporary U.S. assessments estimated early Babur models’ range at 350 km.⁵ In 2016, Pakistan tested an “enhanced” Babur missile, Babur Weapon System Version 2, with a claimed range of 700 km, and enhanced navigation and avionics systems.⁶ In 2018, Pakistan tested a weapon described as the “Babur Weapon System-1(B),” which featured undisclosed improvements and a 700 km range.⁷ Pakistan additionally tested a “high precision” variant of the Babur, the Babur-1A, which it tested in 2021 to a range of 450 km.⁸