Ra’ad (Hatf 8)


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The Ra’ad (Hatf 8) is an air-launched cruise missile developed by Pakistan. The turbo-jet powered missile can reportedly range 350 km

Ra’ad (Hatf 8) at a Glance

Originated from
Pakistan
Possessed by
Pakistan
Class
Subsonic Cruise Missile
Basing
Air-launched
Length
4.85 m
Diameter
0.5 m
Warhead
HE, nuclear, conventional
Propulsion
Turbojet
Range
350 km
Status
Unknown

Hatf 8 Development

Pakistan reportedly began testing the Hatf 8 in August 2007 and has conducted several additional tests since then, including a reportedly successful flight in January 2016.1

The Hatf 8’s appearance suggests a similar design concept to the MBDA Scalp EG/Storm Shadow (Black Shaheen)/Apache, Taurus KEPD 350, and other air-launched cruise missiles.

Specifications

The turbojet-powered Hatf 8 can reportedly range 350 km. According to Pakistani media reports, the Hatf 8 possesses a “low-altitude, terrain hugging” flight profile and “pinpoint accuracy,” suggesting the presence of an active guidance system.2 It measures 4.85 m in length and 0.5 m in body diameter.3

Pakistan initially fielded the Hatf 8 on its Mirage III aircraft and aims to integrate the system with its JF-17 fighter.

Footnotes

    1. Agence French-Presse, “Military: Pakistan Test-Launches Homegrown Cruise Missile,” Defense News, January 19, 2016, http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2016/01/19/military-pakistan-test-launches-homegrown-cruise-missile/79032482/; “Hatf 8 (Ra’ad), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 173.
    2. Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 64.
    3. “Hatf 8 (Ra’ad), in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 173.
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Missile Defense Project, "Ra’ad (Hatf 8)," Missile Threat, Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 16, 2016, last modified August 12, 2021, https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/hatf-8/.