Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction

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Pakistan began focusing on nuclear development in January 1972 under the leadership of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Pakistan's nuclear weapons development program was in response to neighboring India's development of nuclear weapons. Bhutto called a meeting of senior scientists and engineers on 20 January 1972, in Multan. It was here that Bhutto rallied Pakistan's scientists to build the atomic bomb for national survival. At the Multan meeting, Bhutto also appointed Pakistani nuclear scientist,Munir Ahmad Khan (a U.S trained scientist), as chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), who till then had been working as Director of Nuclear Power and Reactor Division at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna, Austria. This marked the beginning of Pakistan's pursuit of nuclear capability. Following India's surprise nuclear test, codenamed Smiling Buddha in 1974, the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation outside the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council, the goal to develop nuclear weapons received considerable impetus.^{[citation needed]}

Consequently, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, a metallurgical engineer, working at the Dutch research firm URENCO, also joined Pakistan's nuclear weapons-grade Uranium enrichment program. The uranium enrichment program had been launched in 1974 by PAEC chairman Munir Ahmad Khan as Project-706. A.Q. Khan joined the project in the spring of 1976 and was made Project-Director in July 1976 after taking over from another nuclear scientist, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. In 1983, Khan was convicted by a Dutch court in absentia for stealing the blueprints, though the conviction was overturned on a legal technicality.^[1]

Through the late 1970s, Pakistan's program acquired sensitive uranium enrichment technology and expertise. The 1975 arrival of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan considerably advanced these efforts. Dr. Khan is a German-trained metallurgist who brought with him knowledge of gas centrifuge technologies that he had through his position at the classified URENCO uranium enrichment plant in the Netherlands. He was put in charge of building, equipping and operating Pakistan's Kahuta facility, which was established in 1976. Under Khan's direction, Pakistan employed an extensive clandestine network in order to obtain the necessary materials and technology for its developing uranium enrichment capabilities.^[2]

On 28 May 1998, a few weeks after India's second nuclear test (Operation Shakti), Pakistan detonated five nuclear devices in the Chagai Hills in the Chaghai district, Balochistan. This operation was named Chagai-I by Pakistan, the base having been long-constructed by provincial martial law administrator Rahimuddin Khan during the 1980s. Pakistan's fissile material production takes place at Kahuta and Khushab/Jauharabad, where weapons-grade plutonium is made by the scientists.^[3]

Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program was established in 1974 when the Directorate of Technical Development (DTD) was set up in PAEC by chairman Munir Ahmad Khan.Munir Ahmad Khan was credited as the one of the pioneers of Pakistan's atomic bomb by a recent study from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London's dossier on Pakistan's nuclear program. DTD was assigned the task of developing the implosion design, trigger mechanism, physics calculations, high-speed electronics, high-precision chemical and mechanical components, high explosive lenses for Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The DTD had come up with its first implosion design of a nuclear weapon by 1978 which was then improved and later tested on 11 March 1983 when PAEC carried out Pakistan's first successful cold test of a nuclear device. Between 1983 and 1990, PAEC carried out 24 more cold tests of various nuclear weapon designs. DTD had also developed a miniaturized weapon design by 1987 that could be delivered by all Pakistan Air Force aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

Pakistan is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium at its Khushab nuclear facility, a Washington-based science think tank has reported^[4]. Estimated Pakistani nuclear weapons is probably in the neighborhood of more than 200 by the end of 2008. “The sixth Pakistani nuclear test (May 30, 1998) at Kharan was a successful test of a sophisticated, compact, but powerful bomb designed to be carried by missiles. The Pakistanis are believed to be spiking their plutonium based nuclear weapons with tritium. Only a few grams of tritium can result in an increase of the explosive yield by 300% to 400%.”^[5]. Citing new satellite images of the facility, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said the imagery suggests construction of the second Khushab reactor is “likely finished and that the roof beams are being placed on top of the third Khushab reactor hall”. ^[6]

Contents 1 Nuclear weapons 1.1 Origins 1.2 The Civilian Nuclear Programme 1.3 Policy 1.4 Protection 2 Infrastructure 2.1 Uranium Infrastructure 2.2 Plutonium Infrastructure 2.3 Arsenal 2.4 Foreign assistance 2.5 Doctrine 2.6 Role of the USA in guarding the nuclear weapons 2.7 National Security Council 3 Weapons development agencies 3.1 National Engineering & Scientific Commission (NESCOM) 3.2 Ministry of Defense Production 3.3 Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) 3.4 Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (SUPARCO) 3.5 Precision Engineering Complex (PEC) 3.6 Ministry of Industries & Production 4 Missiles 5 Aircraft delivery 6 Naval Delivery 7 Notes 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Nuclear weapons

Pakistan
Nuclear program start date	1 January 1972
First nuclear weapon test	28 May 1998
First fusion weapon test	11 March 1983
Last nuclear test	30 May 1998
Largest yield test	25-36 kT of TNT (announced)28 May 1998
Total tests	6 detonations
Peak stockpile	35-120 warheads (2009)
Current stockpile	35-120 warheads
Maximum missile range	3,500 km (Shaheen-II)
NPT signatory	No

[edit] Origins

In February 1948, the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah announced:

“

The weak and the defenseless in this world invite aggression from others. The best way we can serve peace is by removing the temptation from the path of those who think we are weak and, for that reason, they can bully or attack us. That temptation can only be removed if we make ourselves so strong that nobody dare entertain any aggressive designs against us. Pakistan has come to stay and no power on earth can destroy it.[7][8]

”

In 1972, in response to India's Smiling Buddha nuclear tests, Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto announced:

“

If India builds the bomb, we will eat grass and leaves for a thousand years, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own. The Christians have the bomb, the Jews have the bomb and now the Hindus and the Sikhs have the bomb. Why not the Muslims too have the bomb?[9][10]

”

[edit] The Civilian Nuclear Programme

Pakistan's civilian nuclear programme started in 1956 when the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established, with the initial target of capitalizing on the U.S-Pakistan's quest for acquiring the sensitive nuclear technology. U.S President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace Programme", and its first chairman was Dr. Nazir Ahmad.^{[citation needed]}

In 1961, PAEC set up a Mineral Centre at Lahore and a similar multidisciplinary Centre was set up in Dhaka, in the then East Pakistan. With these two centers, the basic research work started.^{[citation needed]}

The first thing that was to be undertaken was the search for Uranium. This continued for about 3 years from 1960 to 1963. Uranium deposits were discovered in the Dera Ghazi Khan district and the first-ever national award was given to the PAEC. Mining of Uranium began in the same year. Dr. Abdus Salam and Dr. I. H. Usmani also sent a large number of scientists to pursue doctorate degrees in the field of Nuclear Technology and nuclear reactor technology. In December 1965, then-Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto visited Vienna where he met with known Pakistani nuclear engineer, Munir Ahmad Khan. At a Vienna meeting,^[when?] Munir A. Khan informed Bhutto about the statue of Indian nuclear programme.^{[citation needed]}

The next landmark under Dr. I. H. Usmani, was the establishment of PINSTECH – Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, at Nilore near Islamabad. The principal facility there was a 5 MW research reactor, commissioned in 1965 and consisting of the Pakistan Atomic Research Reactor (PARR-1), which was upgraded to 10 MW under Munir Ahmad Khan in 1990. A second Atomic Research Reactor, PARR-2, was a Pool-type, light-water, 27-30 kW, training reactor that went critical in 1989 under Munir Ahmad Khan. Both reactors were provide by the United States.^{[citation needed]} Canada build Pakistan's first civil-purpose nuclear power plant.^{[citation needed]}

The PAEC in 1970 began work on a pilot-scale plant at Dera Ghazi Khan for the concentration of uranium ores. The plant had a capacity of 10,000 pounds a day.^{[citation needed]}

Dr. I. H. Usmani’s contribution to the nuclear programme is fundamental to the development of atomic energy for civilian purposes as he established PINSTECH, that subsequently developed into Pakistan’s premier nuclear research institution. In addition to sending hundreds of young Pakistanis abroad for training, he laid the foundations of the Muslim world’s first nuclear power reactor KANUPP, which was inaugurated by Munir Ahmad Khan in 1972. Thus, Usmani laid solid groundwork for the civilian nuclear programme^[11]

On September, 3,2004, Pakistan signed an agreement with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to the media sources in Pakistan, IAEA has mandated Pakistan to extensively use and establish more nuclear power plants to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes in agriculture, industrial, health, education, environment, energy and power sectors.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Policy

Pakistan acceded to the Geneva Protocol on 15 April 1960, the Biological Weapons Convention in 1974 and the Chemical Weapons Convention on 28 October 1997.In 1999 Pakistan signed the Lahore Accords with India, agreeing on a bilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. However, Pakistan, like India and Israel, is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and, consequently, not bound by any of its provisions.

[edit] Protection

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton informed that Pakistan has dispersed its nuclear weapons throughout the country, increasing the security so that they could not fall into terrorist hands. Her comments came as new satellite images released by the ISIS suggested Pakistan is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium, a fuel for atomic bombs. The institute has also claimed that Pakistan has built two more nuclear reactors at Khoshab increasing the number of plutonium producing reactors to three.^[12]

In May 2009, during the anniversary of Pakistan's first nuclear weapons test, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif claimed that Pakistan’s nuclear security is the strongest in the world.^[13]

According to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's nuclear safety program and nuclear security program is the strongest program in the world and there is no such capability in any other country for radical elements to steal or possess nuclear weapons.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Uranium Infrastructure

Pakistan's nuclear weapons development program is based, primarily, on highly-enriched uranium (HEU)), which is produced at the Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta, a Zippe centrifuge-based uranium-enrichment facility. The Kahuta facility has been in use since the early 1980s. By the early 1990s, Kahuta had an estimated 3,000 centrifuges in operation, and Pakistan has continued its pursuit of expanded uranium-enrichment capabilities.

[edit] Plutonium Infrastructure

In the mid 1980s, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission began to pursue Plutonium production capabilities. Consequently Pakistan built the 40-50 MW (megawatt, thermal) Khushab Research Reactor at Joharabad, and in April 1998, Pakistan announced that the nuclear reactor was operational. The Khushab reactor project was initiated in 1986 by PAEC chairman Munir Ahmad Khan, who informed the world that the reactor was totally indigenous, i.e. that it was designed and built by Pakistani scientists and engineers. Various Pakistani industries contributed in 82% of the reactor's construction. The Project-Director for this project was Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood. According to public statements made by the US Government officials, this heavy-water reactor can produce up to 8 to 10 kg of plutonium per year with increase in the production by the development of newer facilities,^[14] sufficient for at least one nuclear weapon.^[15] The reactor could also produce tritium if it were loaded with lithium-6, although this is unnecessary for the purposes of nuclear weapons, because modern nuclear weapon designs use ⁶Li directly. According to J. Cirincione of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Khushab's Plutonium production capacity has allowed Pakistan to develop lighter nuclear warheads that would be easier to deliver to any place in the range of the ballistic missiles.^{[citation needed]}

Plutonium separation takes place at the New Labs Reprocessing Plant, which was completed by 1981 by PAEC and is next to the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) near Islamabad, which is not subject to IAEA inspections and safeguards.

In late 2006, the US Institute for Science and International Security released intelligence reports and imagery showing the construction of a new plutonium reactor at the Khushab nuclear site. The reactor is deemed to be large enough to produce enough plutonium to facilitate the creation of as many as "40 to 50 nuclear weapons a year."^[16][17][18] The New York Times carried the story with the insight that this would be Pakistan's third plutonium reactor^[19], signaling a shift to dual-stream development, with Plutonium-based devices supplementing the nation's existing HEU stream to atomic warheads.

[edit] Arsenal

The U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates that Pakistan has built 24–48 HEU-based nuclear warheads with HEU reserves for 30-52 additional warheads.^[20][21] The US Navy Center for Contemporary Conflict estimates that Pakistan possesses between a low of 35 and a high of 95 nuclear warheads, with a median of 60.^[22] But these are outdated sources. Latest reports show much larger capacity.

The NRDC's and the Carnegie Foundation's estimates of approximately 50 weapons are from 2002–03 estimations. In 2000, US Military intelligence estimated that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal may be as large as 100 warheads.^[23] The actual size is hard for experts to gauge owing to the extreme secrecy which surrounds the program in Pakistan. In recent developments, retired Brig. General Feroz Khan, previously second in command at the Strategic Arms Division of Pakistans' Military told a Pakistani newspaper the nation has "about 80 to 120 genuine warheads," and also revealed that Pakistan has decoy or dummy warheads to complicate any designs by aggressors.^[24][25]

Pakistan tested plutonium capability in the sixth nuclear test of 30 May 1998 at Kharan. In this test, the latest and most sophisticated bomb design made to be carried by missiles was tested. Compactness is also an issue with F-16s and other fighter-bomber aircraft of the same class, unless the platform happens to be a dedicated strategic bomber. F-16s have limits to the size and weight of the bombs they can carry. But as the plutonium bombs are much lighter than the uranium bombs it is much easier for Pakistan to fit plutonium bombs on the F-16s and the latest fourth generation fighter jet JF-17 (until the new genuration J 10 arives from china in 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu_J-10)which has started serial production in Pakistan in January, 2008.^[26]

The critical mass of a bare mass sphere of 90% enriched uranium-235 is 52 kg. Correspondingly, the critical mass of a bare mass sphere of plutonium-239 is 8–10 kg. The bomb that destroyed Hiroshima used 60 kg of U-235 while the Nagasaki Pu bomb used only 6 kg of Pu-239. Since all Pakistani bomb designs are implosion-type weapons, they will typically use between 15–25 kg of U-235 for their cores. Reducing the amount of U-235 in cores from 60 kg in gun-type devices to 25 kg in implosion devices is only possible by using good neutron reflector/tamper material such as beryllium metal, which increases the weight of the bomb. And the uranium, like plutonium, is only usable in the core of a bomb in metallic form. Add about 50 or so chemical high-explosive lenses, triggering circuits, and outer aluminium casing, all this adds to the overall weight of the device. Therefore if a bomb has to use only U-235, that will impose serious restrictions on the amount of U-235 that can be used, and the size of the bomb itself, thus restricting its explosive yield. True PAEC did develop bomb designs that could be carried by all PAF aircraft, but after years of effort and R&D, and then too, there were serious limitations on the further extent of miniaturization of the bombs. If uranium is used as bomb fuel, it cannot be miniaturized beyond a certain point.

However, only 2–4 kg of plutonium is needed for the same device that would need 20–25 kg of U-235. Additionally, a few grams of tritium (a by-product of plutonium production reactors and thermonuclear fuel) can increase the overall yield of the bombs by a factor of three to four. “The sixth Pakistani nuclear test (May 30, 1998) at Kharan was a successful test of a sophisticated, compact, but powerful bomb designed to be carried by missiles. The Pakistanis are believed to be spiking their plutonium based nuclear weapons with tritium. Only a few grams of tritium can result in an increase of the explosive yield by 300% to 400%.”^[27]

A whole range and variety of weapons using Pu-239 can be easily built, both for aircraft delivery and especially for missiles (in which U-235 cannot be used). So if Pakistan wants to be a nuclear power with an operational deterrent capability, both first and second strike, based on assured strike platforms like ballistic and cruise missiles (unlike aircraft), the only solution is with plutonium, which has been the first choice of every country that built a nuclear arsenal.

As for Pakistan's plutonium capability, it has always been there, from the early 1980s onwards. There were only two problems. One was that Pakistan did not want to be an irresponsible state and so did not divert spent fuel from the safeguarded KANUPP for reprocessing at New Labs. This was enough to build a whole arsenal of nuclear weapons straight away. So PAEC built its own plutonium and tritium production reactor at Khushab, beginning in 1985. The second one was allocation of resources.

Ultra-centrifugation for obtaining U-235 cannot be done simply by putting natural uranium through the centrifuges. It requires the complete mastery over the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, beginning at uranium mining and refining, production of uranium ore or yellow cake, conversion of ore into uranium dioxide UO₂ (which is used to make nuclear fuel for natural uranium reactors like Khushab and KANUPP), conversion of UO₂ into uranium tetrafluoride UF₄ and then into the feedstock for enrichment (UF₆).

The complete mastery of fluorine chemistry and production of highly toxic and corrosive hydrofluoric acid and other fluorine compounds is required. The UF₆ is pumped into the centrifuges for enrichment. The process is then repeated in reverse until UF₄ is produced, leading to the production of uranium metal, the form in which U-235 is used in a bomb.

It is estimated that there are approximately 10,000 centrifuges in Kahuta. This means that with P2 machines, they would be producing between 75–100 kg of HEU since 1986, when full production of weapons-grade HEU began. Also the production of HEU was voluntarily capped by Pakistan between 1991 and 1997, and the five nuclear tests of 28 May 1998 also consumed HEU. So it is safe to assume that between 1986 and 2005 (prior to the 2005 earthquake), KRL produced 1500 kg of HEU. Accounting for losses in the production of weapons, it can be assumed that each weapon would need 20 kg of HEU; sufficient for 75 bombs as in 2005.

Pakistan's first nuclear tests were made in May 1998, when six warheads were tested. It is reported that the yields from these tests were 12kt, 30 to 35kt and four low-yield (below 1 kt) tests. From these tests Pakistan can be estimated to have developed operational warheads of 20 to 25kt and 150kt in the shape of low weight compact designs and may have 300–500kt ^[28] large-size warheads. The low-yield weapons are probably in nuclear bombs carried on F-16 Fighting Falcon and the JF-17 Thunder aircraft and fitted to Pakistan's short-range ballistic missiles, while the higher-yield warheads are probably fitted to the Shaheen series and Ghauri series ballistic missiles.^[29]

[edit] Foreign assistance

Historically, China is alleged to have played a major role in the establishment of Pakistan's nuclear weapons development infrastructure, especially, when increasingly stringent export controls in the western countries made it difficult for Pakistan to acquire nuclear materials and technology from elsewhere. Additionally, Pakistani officials have supposedly been present to observe at least one Chinese nuclear test. In a recent revelation by a high-ranking former US official, it was disclosed that China had allegedly transferred nuclear technology to Pakistan and conducting Proxy Test for it in 1980.^[30] According to a 2001 Department of Defense report, China has supplied Pakistan with nuclear materials and has provided critical technical assistance in the construction of Pakistan's nuclear weapons development facilities, in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which China is a signatory.^[31]

In 1986, Pakistan and China signed a civilian nuclear technology agreement in which China would supply Pakistan a civil-purpose nuclear technology. A grand ceremony was held in Beijing where Pakistan's then Foreign Minister Sahibzada Yaqub Khan signed on behalf of Pakistan in the presence of Munir Ahmad Khan and Chinese Prime Minister. Therefore, in 1989, Pakistan reached agreement with China for the supply of a 300MW CHASHNUPP-1 nuclear power plant. In February, 1990, President François Mitterrand of France visited Pakistan and announced that France had agreed to supply a 900 MWe nuclear power reactor to Pakistan. However, after the Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (late) was dimissed in August, 1990, the French nuclear power plant deal went into cold storage and the agreement could not be implemented due to financial constraints and the Pakistani government's apathy.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Doctrine

Pakistan's motive, as stated by its former President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1985, for pursuing a nuclear weapons development program is to counter the threat posed by its principal rival, India^{[citation needed]}.

Pakistan has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). According to the U.S. Defense Department report cited above, "Pakistan remains steadfast in its refusal to sign the NPT, stating that it would do so only after India joined the Treaty. Consequently, not all of Pakistan's nuclear facilities are under IAEA safeguards. Pakistani officials have stated that signature of the CTBT is in Pakistan's best interest, but that Pakistan will do so only after developing a domestic consensus on the issue, and have disavowed any connection with India's decision."

The organization authorized to make decisions about Pakistan's nuclear posturing is the NCA. Here is a link showing NCA of Pakistan. [1] It was established in February 2000. The NCA is composed of two committees that advise the present President of Pakistan, on the development and deployment of nuclear weapons; it is also responsible for war-time command and control. In 2001, Pakistan further consolidated its nuclear weapons infrastructure by placing the Khan Research Laboratories and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission under the control of one Nuclear Defense Complex.

It has been recently reported by the Pakistani Press namely Jang that Pakistan has the ability to MIRV its missiles. This has been seen as possibly one of the greatest achievement to date for Pakistan. It has also been reported that Pakistan would likely MIRV its Shaheen-II and Ghauri II missiles.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Role of the USA in guarding the nuclear weapons

From the end of 2001 the United States has provided material assistance to aid Pakistan in guarding its own nuclear weapons. This included the safeguarding of Pakistan's nuclear material, its warheads as well as its laboratories. The cost of the program has been almost $100 million. Specifically the USA has provided helicopters, night-vision goggles and nuclear detection equipment.^[32]

Pakistan turned down the offer of PALS technology, a sophisticated "weapon release" program which initiates use via specific checks and balances as it feared the secret implanting of "dead switches".^[33]

[edit] National Security Council

• National Command Authority
• Ministry of Defence
• Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC)
• Strategic Planning Directorate (SPD - ex CDD)

[edit] Weapons development agencies

[edit] National Engineering & Scientific Commission (NESCOM)

• National Development Complex (NDC), Islamabad
• Pakistan Missile Organization (PMO), Khanpur
• Air Weapon Complex (AWC), Hasanabdal
• Maritime Technologies Complex (MTC), Karachi

[edit] Ministry of Defense Production

• Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), Wah
• Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra
• Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO), Chattar

[edit] Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)

• Directorate of Technical Development
• Directorate of Technical Equipment
• Directorate of Technical Procurement
• Directorate of Science & Engineering Services
• Institute of Nuclear Power, Islamabad
• Pakistan Institute of Science & Technology (PINSTECH)
• New Laboratories, Rawalpindi
• Pilot Reprocessing Plant
• PARR-1 and PARR-2 Nuclear Research Reactors
• Center for Nuclear Studies (CNS), Islamabad
• Computer Training Center (CTC), Islamabad
• Nuclear Track Detection Center (Solid State Nuclear Track Detection Center)
• Khushab Reactor, Khushab
• Atomic Energy Minerals Centre, Lahore
• Hard Rock Division, Peshawar
• Mineral Sands Program, Karachi
• Baghalchur Uranium Mine, Baghalchur
• Dera Ghazi Khan Uranium Mine, Dera Ghazi Khan
• Issa Khel/Kubul Kel Uranium Mines and Mills, Mianwali
• Multan Heavy Water Production Facility, Multan, Punjab
• Uranium Conversion Facility, Islamabad
• Golra Ultracentrifuge Plant, Golra
• Sihala Ultracentrifuge Plant, Sihala
• Directorate of Quality Assurance,Islamabad
• New Labs Nilore,Islamabad

[edit] Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (SUPARCO)

• Aerospace Institute, Islamabad
• Computer Center, Karachi
• Control System Laboratories
• Flight Test Range, Sonmiani Beach
• Instrumentation Laboratories, Karachi
• Material Research Division
• Quality Control and Assurance Unit
• Rocket Bodies Manufacturing Unit
• Solid Composite Propellant Unit
• Space and Atmospheric Research Center, Karachi
• Static Test Unit, Karachi

[edit] Precision Engineering Complex (PEC)

[edit] Ministry of Industries & Production

• State Engineering Corporation (SEC)
• Heavy Mechanical Complex Ltd. (HMC)
• Peoples Steel Mills Limited, Karachi.

[edit] Missiles

Below is the list of all the missiles currently in Pakistan's inventory or under development that can carry a non-conventional payload (Nuclear in Pakistan's case).

Pakistan's Nuclear Capable Missiles

Name/Designation	Class	Range: Max Range with Min Payload	Payload	Status
Hatf-I	SRBM	100 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Abdali	SRBM	180 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Ghaznavi	SRBM	290 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
M-11	SRBM	300 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Shaheen-I	SRBM	750 Km	850 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Ghauri-I	MRBM	1500 Km	750 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Ghauri-II	MRBM	1800-2300 Km	750-1200 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Shaheen-II	MRBM	2000-3500 Km	500-2500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Ghauri-III	IRBM	3600+ Km	1200+ Kg	Under Development
Shaheen-III	IRBM	4000+ Km	1200+ Kg	Under Development
Babur	Land Attack Cruise missile	700 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces
Ra'ad	Air Launched Cruise Missile	350 Km	500 Kg	Operational with Pakistan's Armed Forces

[edit] Aircraft delivery

There are two units operating the Chinese-built A-5 (No. 16 Sqn and No. 26 Sqn), an aircraft believed to be a leading candidate for the aerial delivery of Pakistan's nuclear weapons. The others are the Mirage IIIOs, Mirage IIIODs and Mirage IIIEs. The Pakistani Air Force, currently, operates some 156 Mirage (III & V) aircraft. The allocation of 90 of these aircraft is not, currently, known. Pakistan also has 46 F-16 Fighter aircraft—all block 15s. As of now, it recently received 2 block 15OCUs through Peace Gate 3/4 as a good-will gesture from the US Government in November 2006. All of these F-16s are capable of delivering nuclear warheads, they are split into 2 squadrons, both stationed at PAF Sargodha. It is rumoured that the 34 current PAF F-16s have been modified for nuclear weapons delivery by PAC, Kamra. Also, in the 1990s, the PAF F-16s have practiced toss-bombing which is a method to deliver nuclear weapons. Pakistan prefers to use ballistic missiles and cruise missiles to deliver nuclear warheads because they have a much longer range than aircraft and do not need the airspace to be cleared of aircraft and SAMS.

In an attempt to modernize its Air Force, Pakistan has recently signed a deal for the purchase of 26 F-16 block 15OCUs that were under Peace Gate 3/4 and 60 MLU [2] kits for block 15s, AMRAAMs, LGBs, and various other missiles and bombs and other items, the purchase of 18 F-16 block 50/52+ [3] with an option of 18 more. If all options are exercised, this deal will cost US$5 billion. All of these F-16s will be capable of nuclear weapons delivery.

Also, by early 2007, the first 8 JF-17 Thunder aircraft [4] (FC-1s) have entered into the PAF service. These are pre-production aircraft and more JF-17 Thunder aircraft will follow. These, too, will be capable of nuclear weapons delivery. Pakistan Air Force to modernize its fleet has also ordered 36 Chinese J-10s [5] for its airforce for a cost of $1.4 billion.

Pakistan has also recently tested its indegious Babur cruise missile having a range of 700 km. Its design appears to be influenced by the Tomahawk cruise missile of the US in terms of its appearance and its advanced specifications. However Pakistan Firmly stands by its claims of an indigenous design of the Babur. It is a ground-launched version capable of evading radar detection. The air-Launch version Ra'ad Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) with a range of 350KM have also been successfully test fired from various Aircrafts, and is being manufactured for the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy. According to the Pakistan Military sources the Submarine-Launched Version is in advance stages of Testing. One Western official specifically asserted that the missile could penetrate both the Patriot and Arrow II Theater missile defense systems with relative ease^[34], however, these systems are specifically designed and built to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles and not cruise missiles. Pakistan’s development of a modern cruise missile marks yet another milestone in the country’s conventional military buildup, and presents a new state of challenges for both Indian and American policymakers^[35].

[edit] Naval Delivery

Naval Delivery: PNS Hamza has just been commissioned this year in August, This submarine is an Augosta 90B and, with a number of modifications, will be able to fire ballistic missiles. These modifications may be happening soon. It is the first submarine in the world to be equipped with the special MESMA Air Independent Propulsion system. This increases diving duration compared to conventional submarines, and gives the Pakistan navy a tactical advantage^[36]. It can also fire Babur Cruise Missiles. Soon, other ships and submarines will be retrofitted to fire ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

The F-22P or the Sword class is an improved version of the Chinese Type 053H3 frigate ordered by the Pakistan Navy (PN). Two are currently in operation with Pakistan Navy while the third is under construction.[1]

The contract was signed on April 4, 2006 with the conclusion of negotiations for financing and technology transfer. Delivery from 2008 with the remainder by 2013. The first three are being built by China, and the last being built in Pakistan by Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW). The $750 million deal, finalized last year, also includes 4-6 Z-9EC helicopters as well as ammunition for the frigates. The first ship has been named the PNS Zulfiqar and was launched on April 5, 2008.[2] It will be delivered to the Pakistan Navy in August with the second following in December 2009.[3]

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Chronology of Pakistan's rocket tests
• Nuclear power in Pakistan
• Pakistan Army
• List of countries with nuclear weapons

[edit] External links

• BCCI May have funded Bomb
• The Islamic Bomb - Tashbih Sayyed
• The South Asian Strategic Stability Institute Weapons Related Datasets
• Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU) Military and Weapons Section
• China,Pakistan and the Bomb The Declassified File on U.S. Policy, 1977-1997-----National Security Archives.
• http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/nuke/index.html
• Nuclear Notebook: Laddi's nuclear program, 2005, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan/Feb 2002.
• Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons Program - The Beginning
• Pakistani Military Consortium
• Nuclear Files.org Pakistan's nuclear conflict with India- background and the current situation
• Nuclear Files.org Current information on nuclear stockpiles in Pakistan
• Ideas Pakistan - International Defense Exhibition at Karachi, Pakistan
• Defense Export Promotion Organization - Ministry of Defense
• Time line of Pakistan's nuclear weapon development and tests
• - Pakistani & Indian Missile Forces (Tarmuk missile mentioned here)
• - Annotated bibliography on Pakistan's nuclear weapons from the Alsos Digital Library

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