Introduction:
The strategic defence against
a foreign military attack is of paramount importance to any country. During
the 20th century the concept of strategic defence has been revolutionized
by new weapons, especially by intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) equipped with nuclear
warheads. One of the most important inventions of mankind in recent history,
however, was the development of aircraft. These weapons have made defensive
strategies based on frontier and coastal defence obsolete and have brought
about a strategy based on a deterrence rather than one based on the destruction
of the attacking forces. Active defence against nuclear-armed ballistic
missiles and aircraft has been discarded in favour of the threat of retaliation,
that is, the ability of the offensive forces, or counterforce, of the attacked
nation to survive
This strategy of deterrence,
which has been the basis of Pakistani defence policy since the 1980s, depends
on an effective air force, an effective nuclear delivery force and on the
protection of that force from a first-strike attack. The nuclear delivery
force currently consists of a triad of two weapons systems: the deep penetration
strike aircraft such as the PAF F-16s, the short and
Counterforce: The strategic forces of the
Pakistan incorporate both active offensive elements and passive defensive
measures. Land-based SSMs and manned bombers, part of the PAF Central Air
Command, consisted of SSMs and bombers. The Pakistan Air Force strategic
bomber force, made up mainly of F-16s and A-5s are also considered vulnerable
to missile attack and depend on early warning systems to get away from
unprotected airfields, which are all within 15 minutes air time for Indian
Passive Defence Systems: Protection of the Pakistani counterforce relies almost entirely on passive defence systems for surveillance, assessment, and warning of a missile attack. This effort begins with a vast intelligence-collecting and analyzing programme to determine the nature of the threat. Information is gathered from worldwide sources ranging from sophisticated satellites to the press releases of foreign governments. Information about the threat might include the size and capabilities of a potential attacking force or any passive measures that could nullify the effect of the Pakistani counterforce. On the basis of an analysis of the threat, Pakistani executive and military leaders all contribute to the establishment of an effective defence programme within existing constraints. The role of the Pakistan Institute for Air Defence Studies (PIADS) would be to further strengthen this system. Operation of air defence is delegated to the Air Force's three commands which are charged with overlooking the air defence of the three districts, the Northern Command, the Central Command and the Southern Command and is supported by the Pakistan Air Force Central Air Command (air defence radar, control centres, interceptors, and missile-warning and space-surveillance sensors). The PAF employs a variety
of means to monitor the strategic strike forces of neighbouring countries,
in particular India. The detection and tracking devices installed by the
PAF include radar and sonar; laser beams; high-resolution optical devices
using natural or artificial illumination; and magnetic, thermal, chemical,
and acoustical sensors. This equipment may be located on ground, on sea,
on aircraft, or on space satellites, and, when linked together by a central
control for a specific set of
Active Defence Systems: Belts of radar stations still
provide notice of a conventional air attack, while the newer defence systems
co-ordinates the surveillance and tracking of all objects in Pakistani
and surrounding airspace through various regional control centres. The
aircraft tracking system is operated jointly by the Pakistan Air Force
and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for both air traffic control and
air defence. One significant addition to air defence should be the Airborne
Warning and Control System
Pakistan has no active antiballistic missile (ABM) system in operation. While, perhaps, Pakistani ABMs may increase the protection of radar and strategic sites, the parallel deployment of ABMs by India may reduce any defensive advantage, and in both countries their construction, maintenance, and continued improvement would prove extremely costly. Some active defensive systems
are those employed by the Pakistan Navy to detect and destroy ballistic-missile-launching
submarines. Ship-mounted sonars on destroyers and frigates are now supplemented
by towed, underwater sonar arrays that disregard distorting thermal currents
and eliminate false reverberations and other clutter. Shipborne helicopters
capable of "dunking" small sonar sets, expendable sonar buoys, and high-speed,
sonar-equipped submarines also enhance
Guided Missiles: Guided missiles are self-propelled aerial projectiles, guided in flight toward a target either by remote control or by internal mechanisms. Guided missiles vary widely in size and type, ranging from large strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads to small, portable rockets carried by foot soldiers. Although most are military weapons with explosive warheads, others may carry scientific instruments for gathering information within or above the earth's atmosphere. Guided missiles consist of
three separate systems: power source, guidance and control mechanism, and
warhead or payload. Power sources normally are either self-contained rocket
motors or air-breathing jet engines , but may also be airfoils or outside
booster charges from ramp or tube launchers. The type of guidance and control
system employed depends on the type of missile and the nature of the target.
Inertial guidance systems sense the position of the flight path in relation
to a fixed
Before World War II guided missiles were limited to experimental, pilotless aircraft controlled by radio. During the WWII, however, rapid technological advances in such fields as aerodynamics, electronics, jet and rocket propulsion, radar, servomechanisms, inertial guidance and control systems, and aircraft structures, coupled with the intensive search for better weapons, led to the construction, testing, and finally mass production of the modern guided missile. Guided missiles today are grouped into four launch-to-target categories: surface-to-surface, surface-to air, air-to-surface, and air-to-air. "Surface" in each case signifies on as well as below the surface of the land or sea. Missiles may also be grouped by their area of operation: Tactical missiles are used by military forces in direct combat on and above the battlefield; support missiles are employed behind the main battle area; and strategic missiles are designed for intercontinental warfare. Missiles may also be separated by their flight characteristics; Aerodynamic missiles are supported in flight by air pressure around their wing and body surfaces similar to conventional piloted aircraft; ballistic missiles depend solely on their internal power source, usually a rocket engine, to remain airborne. Aerodynamic missiles normally travel on a straight-line or flat trajectory toward their target, and ballistic missiles are usually surface-to-surface weapons that follow curved or arched trajectories similar to that of an artillery projectile. Surface-to-Surface Missiles: The first successful guided
missiles were the German V-1 and V-2 Vengeance weapons launched against
Antwerp and London during World War II. The V-1, or buzz bomb, was an aerodynamic
missile powered by a pulse jet engine with a pre-set guidance system that
could sense the correct deviations in altitude and direction. Its average
range was about 240 km (about 150 mi), after which the missile automatically
sent itself into a steep dive and detonated its 1-metric-ton high-explosive
Appreciating the great potential
of the German efforts in guided and ballistic missiles, Allied intelligence
teams scoured Germany in 1945 for technical data, design drawings, and
missiles, and they interrogated key German scientists and engineers. During
the war the Allied powers had made little progress in these fields; they
were quick, however, to integrate German research and
Strategic Missiles: After World War II, the defensive
policy of strategic deterrence depended on a large fleet of long-range
bombers that could deliver accurate nuclear strategic attacks. Defence
planners also experimented with air-breathing subsonic missiles similar
to the V-1. Three developments in the mid-1950s, however, led to the intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM): (1) development of thethermonuclear bomb with
a much greater destructive power than the original atomic bomb; (2) the
rapid refinement of inertial guidance systems for ballistic missiles; and
(3) the development of powerful booster engines for multistage rockets,
greatly increasing their size and range. As a result, ballistic missiles
became sufficiently accurate and powerful to destroy targets 8000 km (5000
mi) away. Atlas, the U.S.'s first successful ICBM, was tested in 1959 and
was followed one year later
Strategic delivery systems went through the same evolution in the U.S. Navy, as slow air-breathing missiles, liquid-fuelled rockets, and carrier-based piloted bombers were abandoned for the two-stage, solid-propellant Polaris ICBM. Carried in two parallel rows of eight aboard large nuclear-powered submarines, these missiles are launched from underwater. The U.S. Navy is replacing Polaris with the longer range Poseidon ICBM and developing an entirely new ICBM compatible with the large Trident submarines under construction. The newer ICBMs of both the U.S. Air Force and Navy carry several nuclear warheads and have the capability to attack a series of different targets. Recently the U.S. has also
resurrected the air-breathing cruise missile for both strategic and tactical
missions. The experimental Tomahawk and the Boeing AGM-86 can be launched
from ground, ship, aircraft, or submarine against short-range tactical
targets such as ships, or against strategic targets several thousand kilometres
away. The anti-ship version travels a few meters above sea level toward
the general area of a target. It then climbs, locates the target through
its own sensing devices, and
Tactical Missiles: Tactical surface-to-surface
guided missiles range from hand-portable antitank rockets to large ballistic
missiles able to attack airfields, supply lines, and communications hundreds
of kilometres behind the battlefield. Small missiles often employ line-of-sight
guidance systems that relay corrections in the flight path of the missile
by means of trailing wires or infrared signals. In newertypes, like the
U.S. Copperhead guided projectile, the target is marked by a laser beam
on the battlefield. The missile is then launched several kilometres to
the rear and searches for the marked target while in flight. On a larger
scale are battlefield support missiles that vary between ballistic weapons
such as the U.S. Pershing to tactical cruise missiles such as the U.S.
Lance. All are mobile, carry nuclear or high-explosive warheads, and have
a range of 160 to 640 km (about 100 to 400
Today, the SSM inventory of Pakistan constitutes the 100 km range Hatf-1 BRBM, the 300 km Hatf-2 SRBM, the 600 km Hatf-3 SRBM and the 1,500 km Ghauri MRBM. Future missile projects include the 700 km Shaheen-1 MRBM and the 2,500 km Ghaznavi IRBM. Air Launched Missiles: Air-to-air and air-to-surface
guided missiles are generally short-range, light, rocket-powered projectiles
with sophisticated internal guidance systems. Both types were tested in
wartime Germany, and German radio-controlled glide bombs were responsible
for sinking numerous Allied ships. Although these early missile weapons
relied on optical tracking and control from parent aircraft, most current
air-to-ground guided missiles depend on their own target-sensing mechanism
once launched.
Surface-to-Air Missiles: This type of missile was
developed to protect ground areas from hostile air attack, especially from
high-altitude bombers flying above the range of conventional antiaircraft
artillery. During the 1950s and '60s, batteries of Nike-Ajax and the improved
Nike-Hercules provided strategic air defence for the U.S. against long-range
Soviet bombers. Subsequently, with the replacement of piloted bombers by
the ICBM as the Soviet Union's primary nuclear delivery system, and with
the signing of an
Warheads: Military guided missiles
carry either high-explosive or nuclear warheads. Short-range tactical missiles
employ high-explosive charges that produce damage through their force of
impact and blast or through fragmentation. Antitank missiles, for example,
normally depend on a concentrated blast effect to penetrate or splinter
armour; warheads used against less protected targets such as aircraft rely
more on fragmentation to produce the greatest damage. Nuclear warheads
are weapons of mass
Guidance and Control: Missiles are guided toward
targets by remote control or by internal guidance mechanisms. Remote control
missiles are linked to a human or mechanical target locator through trailing
wires, wireless radio, or some other type of signal system; internal guidance
mechanisms have optical, radar, infrared, or some other type of sensor
that can detect heat, light, or electronic emissions from the target. Most
missiles have some type of movable fins or airfoil that can be used to
direct the course
Military Aircraft: Since the beginning of the
20th century, the military aircraft has evolved from a frail contraption
of wood, wire, and fabric into a sophisticated weapons system of enormous
complexity that revolutionized the conduct of warfare. Air power has provided
military commanders with new means of gathering intelligence, dominating
a battlefield, striking the enemy over great distances, and forging global
lines of supply and communication. Aviation redefined old notions of war,
rendering civilians on the home-front as vulnerable to attack as soldiers
on the battlefield.
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