Pakistan may equip its JF-17s with the dual-capable Ra’ad ALCM to take over the nuclear strike role from its Mirage III/V.
Pakistan may be preparing its JF-17 Thunder for the launch of the nuclear-capable Ra’ad air-launched cruise missile (ALCM), a study conducted by a Pakistani research agency has revealed. Fast (Federation of American Scientists). Fast This conclusion was reached after comparing images of the Ra’ad I/II published in Pakistan’s official ISPR (International Public Relations Bureau) documents with footage from a rehearsal for the 2023 Pakistan Day Parade, which showed an underside view of a missile-equipped JF-17.
Use photo analysis tools on your images to Fast During the parade, it was noted that the missiles mounted on the truck and the aircraft were the same length, thus giving rise to the initial speculation that Pakistan may be equipping its JF-17s with the dual-capable Ra’ad ALCMs so that the new aircraft can take over the nuclear attack role from the Mirage III/V. Pakistan is indeed retiring its old French-made fighter jets.
Pakistan has produced more than 130 JF-17 fighter jets jointly developed with China, with the latest Block III version believed to incorporate some technology from the J-20 stealth fighter. The light single-engine fighter is often seen as a rival to India’s LCA Tejas and has made appearances at international air shows.
JF-17 Thunder Block II equipped with Taimor ALCM missiles.
Remember, the Taimoor missile can also be used on the J-10CE.
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.#puff #PakistanAirForce #Aviation #weapons #Pakistan #LannasHive #SnappersCrew pic.twitter.com/1fpMWHBiCM— Rana Suhaib | Pakistan (@RanaSuhaibphoto) March 19, 2023
After a February 2020 test of the new Ra’ad II, with a purported 600-kilometer range, the ISPR said at the time that the missile would “significantly improve our land- and sea-based air-based strategic standoff capabilities.” The ALCM’s advanced navigation and guidance system “ensures that targets are struck with utmost precision.” These reports suggested that the missile was well on its way to being installed on aircraft, which turned out to be the JF-17 jet.
Image of a JF-17 equipped with Raad in 2023
Fast Analysts referred to an image taken by Rana Suhaib of the Snappers crew during a rehearsal for the 2023 Pakistan Day Parade, which showed the Ra’ad suspended beneath the right wing inner pylon.
The missile’s shape (forward-nose section, centre fuselage, rear exhaust and tail configuration) identified it as a Ra’ad, as there were no missiles of this design and configuration in the PAF’s inventory.
To determine the Ra’ad variant (Ra’ad I or II), the JF-17 is shown in the image. Fast The Pakistani government compared it to the Ra’ad missiles displayed at the Pakistan Day Parades in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024 (the 2020 and 2023 parades were cancelled). The Ra’ad II is said to be an extended-range version of the Ra’ad I. In these parades, the Ra’ad missile was displayed alongside other nuclear-capable missiles such as the Nasr, Ghauri, Shaheen IA and II, and Babur 1A. The Ra’ad itself was first made public in 2017.
according to FastImages from 2017 and 2022 revealed “few visible differences between the Ra’ad-I and II.” The magazine added that “during this period, both missiles were announced to feature new engine air intakes, giving the Ra’ad-II nearly double the range, but this was not clearly visible from external features.” At the time, both the Ra’ad-I and II had the same twin-tail design.
However, the 2022 parade unveiled the Ra’ad-II with an “X-shaped” tail, and the 2024 parade again unveiled two Ra’ad versions with new “respective tail configurations” – the twin-tailed Ra’ad-I and the X-tailed Ra’ad-II.
The fin arrangement of JF-17’s Ra’ad, photographed by Snappers crew during the 2023 rehearsal, matches the “twin tail” of Ra’ad-I seen in 2022. Fast It added that “it is unlikely that the older Raad II will be used for flight tests to demonstrate cutting-edge capabilities.”
The missile was also not a conventional anti-ship variant of the Ra’ad called the “Taymor”, which is reported to be 4.38 metres long. Therefore, the JF-17 pictured in 2023 is equipped with a Ra’ad I.
Turkey is likely to consider inducting the JF-17 Thunder Block III into its air force.
🇹🇷🤝🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/hu43D5817C— International Defense Analysis (@Defence_IDA) December 8, 2023
Photo Analysis
Ra’ad-I was photographed mounted on a truck during the 2019 parade. Fast The missile’s approximate length was estimated to be 4.9 meters. Analysts used the same technique on images of a Ra’ad-equipped JF-17 taken in 2023 and confirmed that the missile’s length matched that of a missile mounted on a truck launcher.
“These observations suggest that Pakistan has likely made significant progress toward equipping its JF-17s with the capability to eventually complement and potentially replace the nuclear strike role of its aging Mirage III/Vs,” the publication said after its analysis.
“While it is clear that Pakistan has redesigned its RAAD-II ALCM, little information has been identified about the purpose or capabilities associated with this new design. It is also unclear whether any of the RAAD systems have been deployed, although this may be a question of when rather than if,” the analysis added.
Partho Satam has had a 15-year career spanning two daily newspapers and two defense publications. He believes war is a human activity, with causes and consequences that go beyond questions of which missile or jet flies the fastest. As such, he enjoys analyzing military issues at their intersection with foreign policy, economics, technology, society and history. His research spans the full spectrum of defense aerospace, tactics, military doctrine and theory, personnel issues, West Asia, Eurasian affairs, energy sector and space.
