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The Ra'ad-II ( 'Thunder-2') is a standoff and an
air-launched cruise missile An air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) is a cruise missile that is launched from a military aircraft. Current versions are typically standoff weapons which are used to attack predetermined land and naval targets with conventional weapon, conventio ...
(ALCM) derived from the Hatf-VIII Ra'ad. It was first publicly unveiled on the Pakistan Day Parade on 23 March 2017, The ''Ra'ad'' features extended range, changes in its control mechanism, its guidance and enhanced flight control systems.


Testing and unveiling

On 18 February 2020, ''Ra'ad-II'' was test-fired from the
Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...
's Mirage-IIIR platform. The test was overseen by ''Ra'ad-II'' program manager, the Strategic Plans Division, developing contractor, NESCOM, and the Pakistan Air Force and Army's Strategic Commands. According to the ISPR, it significantly enhanced Pakistan's air delivered strategic standoff capability on land and at sea.


Technical design

Data provided by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the ''Ra'ad-II'' has an extended range of and has a conventional tail fin configuration compared to the twin tail configuration of the previous version. It has a new "X" type tail as opposed to previous versions large horizontal tails. It has a length of , and is much lighter than the previous weapon system. Design and control surfaces changes to ''Ra'ad-II'' allows to integrate with the JF-17 ''Thunder'' platform— the PAF's primary strike platform.


Aerial-based deterrence

Both ''Hatf-VIII Ra'ad'' and ''Ra'ad-II'' are seen as providing Pakistan the aerial nuclear deterrence against the much larger Indian Air Force and their air defenses in an event of large scale conventional war. In a view of one former PAF's former fighter pilot, ''Ra'ad'' "treetop-hugging ALCM">Air-launched_cruise_missile.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Air-launched cruise missile">ALCMwith its minuscule radar cross-section should be a good antidote to the Indian acquired of S-400 missile system">S-400 Triumf The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the ...
." While the Islamabad-based Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) analyst maintained that the ''Ra’ad-II'' is "Pakistan's response to Indian development of the Nirbhay cruise missile."


Similar missiles

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References

{{Pakistan Missiles Cruise missiles of Pakistan Air-to-surface missiles of Pakistan 2020 in Pakistan Air-launched missiles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2020