At the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh (WDS 2024), the Pakistani company Global Industrial & Defense Solutions (GIDS) demonstrated a new long-range guided missile "Fatah-II" (Fatah-II), the first tests of which took place on December 27, 2023.
Long-range firing has become a key asset in modern warfare. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has shown the importance of such assets. The debate on A2/AD (prohibition of access/prohibition of territory) and, in particular, on how to overcome the restrictions imposed by enemy air defenses, showed that long-range artillery is certainly one of the potential keys to opening up these areas.
Pakistan has several foreign-made multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) in service, the number of Fatah-1 MLRS (Fatah-I) in service is unknown. The firing range of this MLRS is more than 140 km, each launcher carries eight missiles with a circular probable deviation (CVO) of less than 15 m.
The layout of the UR "Fatah-II" at WDS 2024
The new rocket is equipped with a single-stage rocket engine with dual thrust, which accelerates it to supersonic speed, and is controlled before collision by an inertial navigation system (INS) with an advanced satellite, the receiver is open to more than one satellite positioning system, which give it a CVO of less than 50 m at maximum range. The missile is aimed at the target before hitting, being able to maneuver along the entire flight path, which should be quite flat. According to data provided by GIDS, the Fatah II missile can hit targets at ranges from 100 to 290 km.
The layout of the MLRS "Fatah-1" of the Armed Forces of Pakistan
At the end of December 2023, the launch of a new rocket showed the existence of the Fatah II system, the layout of which was demonstrated at an exhibition in Riyadh. Only the PU model "Fatah-I" was presented at the exhibition. Officials of the manufacturer explained that the new rocket has a dual-directional launcher and is incompatible with the Fatah-I missile. The Fatah II missile is 7.5 m long and carries a 365-kilogram unitary high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Fatah II rockets are launched from the PU singly or in one salvo.
It should be noted that the technical data provided by GIDS are more conservative than those announced by the Pakistani Army to the national press in December 2023, after the first launch. According to GIDS, the first batch of Fatah II for the Pakistani army has already been put into production. Probably, the new mounted fire system will be supplied to divisional artillery units.
It is believed that Fatah II will allow Pakistan to launch deep strikes on Indian territory, countering the new Indian doctrine, which aims to launch surprise attacks using integrated brigade-level combat groups. The new guided missile will allow hitting the rear areas where command and rear units are located, without the use of short-range ballistic missiles. Thanks to the solid-fuel rocket engine, the Fatah II sub–divisions will receive a shorter reaction time, and due to supersonic speed and a flatter trajectory, the target location time. These qualities make the new MLRS more suitable for countering goals that materialize in a very short time.
Based on the materials of the resource edrmagazine.eu
