New Delhi: Pakistan on Saturday announced that it has conducted a successful training launch of the Abdali Weapon System — a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 km, amid heightened tensions with India following the Pahalgam terror attack.The trial comes a day after the Indian Air Force(IAF) carried out its “land and go” and “night landing” drills on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh.
“The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile’s advanced navigation system and enhanced manoeuvrability features,” the army said in a statement, PTI reported.The army said the missile launch was part of “Exercise INDUS” without giving details about the exercise. The training launch was witnessed by the Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, senior officials from the Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command, as well as scientists and engineers from Pakistan’s strategic organisations.Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and services chiefs extended their congratulations to the participating troops, scientists, and engineers.
They expressed complete confidence in the operational preparedness and technical proficiency of Pakistan’s Strategic Forces to ensure credible minimum deterrence and safeguard national security against any aggression.The IAF’s “land and go” drill was carried out on the 3.5-km stretch of the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district, marking a significant milestone in India’s defence preparedness.The expressway has a unique capability to facilitate both day and night landings of fighter jets, making it the first such airstrip in the country. So far, the IAF had successfully carried out similar emergency landing drills on two Expressways – Lucknow-Agra and Purvanchal. Both of them were limited to daytime operations.