RAWALPINDI (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan has successfully flight-tested the Fa’az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, Inter-Services Public Relations said on Tuesday.
The ISPR said the missile has a state-of-the-art terminal guidance system, the part that steers a missile onto its target in the final stage of flight, and can engage enemy aerial targets at longer ranges.
It said the Fa’az is expected to give the Pakistan Air Force more operational flexibility and strengthen the country’s overall defence posture, and that the test showed the technical maturity, innovation and self-reliance of Pakistan’s defence industry.
Senior officers of the armed forces watched the launch alongside the scientists and engineers who worked on the weapon. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the services chiefs congratulated the team.
The military did not give the missile’s range or say where the test took place. An image released with the news shows a Pakistan Air Force jet firing the missile in flight.
Long-range air-to-air missiles were at the centre of the air battle with India in May 2025, when Pakistan said its jets shot down Indian aircraft.
