Pakistan launches Ghauri ballistic missile in test of readiness

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has successfully conducted a training launch of a Ghauri medium-range ballistic missile.

The military’s media branch, Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan, said Tuesday’s test was intended to determine the “operational and technical readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command.” ASFC operates Pakistan’s land-based, nonconventional ballistic and cruise missiles, most of which can be armed with nuclear warheads .

The Ghauri missile’s survivability on a battlefield is unlikely given it would have to move with a convoy of support vehicles that provide fuel and prepare it for launch; that grouping of platforms would make it vulnerable to detection.

The country has replaced the weapon with the more advanced and survivable Shaheen series of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.

But Mansoor Ahmed, an expert on Pakistan’s nuclear program, said the Ghauri first underwent testing in 1998 and is still useful.

Ahmed, now in academia at the Australian National University, also told Defense News the Ghauri “appears to be the most widely tested missile system in the Pakistani arsenal.”

“Although this particular test is a training exercise, in addition to validating improved technical and performance parameters, these tests could also be an affordable way to test new reentry vehicle technologies,” Ahmed added.

And given “it is the only liquid-fueled ballistic missile in Pakistan’s strategic forces, the liquid-fueled tech may at least have given Pakistan experience to develop a satellite launch vehicle if it wants to go down that route.”

The Ghauri is fueled by TM-185 (a mixture of gasoline and mainly kerosene) and fuming nitric acid, he explained.

While kerosene has been, and still is, used for space rocket applications, he said, fuming nitric acid generally is not. A more usual combination, he added, would be kerosene and high-test peroxide that may deliver a higher specific impulse — or greater bang for your buck in terms of efficiency — to deliver cargo to orbit.

Usman Ansari is the Pakistan correspondent for Defense News.

伊斯兰堡——巴基斯坦成功进行了高里中程弹道导弹的训练发射。

巴基斯坦军方媒体机构——三军公共关系部（IPSP）周二表示，此次试验旨在检验“陆军战略部队司令部的作战和技术准备情况”。陆军战略部队司令部负责巴基斯坦陆基非常规弹道导弹和巡航导弹的运作，其中大部分导弹可携带核弹头。

鉴于高里导弹必须与一支支援车辆车队一起移动，这些车辆为其提供燃料并准备发射，因此它在战场上的生存能力不太可能；这种平台组合会使其容易被探测到。

该国已用更先进、生存能力更强的“沙欣”系列固体燃料弹道导弹取代了这种武器。

但巴基斯坦核计划专家曼苏尔·艾哈迈德表示，“高里”导弹于 1998 年首次进行测试，至今仍然有用。

艾哈迈德目前在澳大利亚国立大学任教，他还告诉《防务新闻》，“高里”导弹“似乎是巴基斯坦武器库中测试最广泛的导弹系统”。

“虽然这次测试是一次训练演习，除了验证改进的技术和性能参数外，这些测试也可以成为测试新型再入飞行器技术的一种经济实惠的方式，”艾哈迈德补充道。

鉴于“它是巴基斯坦战略部队中唯一的液体燃料弹道导弹，如果巴基斯坦想走这条路，液体燃料技术至少可以为巴基斯坦开发卫星运载火箭提供经验。”

他解释说，Ghauri 的燃料是 TM-185（汽油和煤油的混合物）和发烟硝酸。

他表示，虽然煤油过去和现在都用于航天火箭，但发烟硝酸通常不用于此。他补充说，更常见的组合是煤油和高浓度过氧化氢，这种组合可以提供更高的比冲——或者说更高的效率——将货物送入轨道。

乌斯曼·安萨里是《防务新闻》驻巴基斯坦记者。