ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Navy successfully tested its Air Defence capability in Somiani, Karachi on Monday.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir along with Vice Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar, the Air Defence Commander of Pakistan Navy, witnessed the live surface-to-air missile firing. All the missiles fired, successfully acquired the targets.
A combination of SAM series was tested, which gave PN the flexibility to operate with a range of missiles and strengthen the ground-based air defence. The area of responsibility of Air Defence Battalion stretches from Sir Creek in the east to Jiwani in the west. A large number of Armed Forces officers witnessed the firing serial.
The Chief of Naval Staff appreciated the efforts put in by the Air Defence Battalion of Coastal Command and urged the officers and men to leave no stone unturned to ensure an impeccable defence.
Upon his arrival, the Admiral was given a detailed briefing by the Commander Marines. The Commander in his briefing said that air threat being very dynamic in nature has assumed multiple dimensions in today’s warfare and continuously changing with the rapid technological developments.
He added that the induction of these state-of-the-art weapons/equipments would augment PN ground-based air defence capabilities against hi-tech aircraft and incoming missiles. The missiles are equipped with highly sensitive infrared homing head, which can intercept high-speed aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. These SAMs are ‘Fire and Forget’ type missiles.
