The Shaheen 2 (Hatf 6) is a Pakistani medium-range ballistic missile. It appears to be a two-stage version of the Shaheen 1 design, using a modified Shaheen 1 stage as the second stage motor and RV. It is believed that the Shaheen 2 is derived from the People’s Republic of China (PRC)-developed M-18, though this has not been confirmed.1
Shaheen 2 (Hatf 6) at a Glance
- Originated from
- Pakistan
- Possessed by
- Pakistan
- Class
- Medium-Range Ballistic Missile (MRBM)
- Basing
- Road-mobile
- Length
- 17.2 m
- Diameter
- 1.4 m
- Launch weight
- 23,600 kg
- Payload
- Single warhead, 700 kg
- Warhead
- 15 – 35 kT nuclear, HE, submunitions, chemical
- Propulsion
- Two-stage solid propellant
- Range
- 1,500 – 2,000 km
- Status
- Operational
- In service
- 2014 – present
Shaheen 2 at test launch. Photo: Pakistan ISPR 
Shaheen 2 at Pakistan Day Parade. Photo: Pakistan ISPR 
A Shaheen 2 test launch in May 2019. Photo: Pakistan ISPR
Shaheen 2 Development
Pakistan first displayed the Shaheen 2 was in March 2000 and conducted its first flight test in March 2004. Several subsequent tests have taken place, with a final “training launch” occurring in November 2014, after which the missile became operational.2
Specifications
The Shaheen 2 is a solid-fueled, two-stage missile with an estimated range of 1,500 – 2,000 km.3 It measures 17.2 m long, 1.4 m in diameter, and weighs 23,600 kg at launch.
The missile is designed to carry a single warhead payload weighing 700 kg, and reports suggest that nuclear and conventional payloads weighing up to 1,230 kg were developed. Its separating warhead is thought to feature four small motors to improve accuracy; the missile’s accuracy is estimated at 350 m circular error probable (CEP) It is launched from a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) similar in appearance to Russia’s Russian MAZ-547V, previously used to launch the SS-20 Saber.4
Footnotes
- “Hatf 6 (Shaheen 2),” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 76.
- Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 63.
- Hans M. Kristensen & Robert S. Norris, Pakistani nuclear forces, 2015, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 71:6, 61; 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.
- “Hatf 6 (Shaheen 2),” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic 2015-2016, ed. James C. O’Halloran (United Kingdom: IHS, 2015), 77.