Pakistan test-fires first sub-launched nuke

Pakistan on Monday test-fired its first submarine-launched cruise missile, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and giving the country a credible second strike capability, the military says.

The missile was fired from an underwater mobile platform and hit its target with precise accuracy, it says in a statement.

A military spokesman confirms to AFP the missile, with a range of 450 kilometers (280 miles), could carry a nuclear warhead.

“Babur-3 is a sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2, which was successfully tested earlier in December, last year,” the statement says.

“Pakistan eyes this hallmark development as a step toward reinforcing the policy of credible minimum deterrence.”

While Pakistan has traditionally locked horns with India, it recently became embroiled in a nuclear farce with Israel after Pakistan’s defense minister warned on Twitter about his country’s nuclear capabilities in response to a fake news report that Israel had threatened to nuke Pakistani soldiers in Syria.

— AFP