Pakistan tests its first home-built air-to-air missile Fa’az from a JF-17

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has flight-tested Fa’az, its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile. The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), announced the test on Tuesday, calling it a significant milestone for the country’s aerospace and defence capabilities. Video released with the announcement showed the missile being fired from a JF-17 fighter jet.

Advanced guidance, longer reach
According to the ISPR, Fa’az carries a state-of-the-art terminal guidance system and can engage enemy aerial targets at longer ranges. “Fa’az will significantly enhance the operational flexibility of the Pakistan Air Force, further strengthening the country’s overall defence posture,” the statement said. Senior officers of the armed forces watched the launch, along with the scientists and engineers who built the weapon system. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and the service chiefs congratulated the team behind it. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also welcomed the test, describing it as an important development for the defence sector.

No range, speed or induction date disclosed
The military did not say how far the missile can fly, how fast it travels, or when it will formally enter service with the Pakistan Air Force. A successful flight test is a development milestone, not a confirmation that the weapon is operational — and the ISPR gave no deployment timeline. The state-owned Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS) had displayed two Faaz variants at a defence exhibition in Istanbul in 2023, and the company’s own figures put the range above 100 kilometres at Mach 3.5 — but those are manufacturer claims, not figures released by the military.

Third missile test in under a month
Fa’az is Pakistan’s third major missile test in less than a month. In October, the army test-fired an extended-range version of the Fatah-4 ground-launched cruise missile, followed on 13 October by the extended-range Fatah-2 hypersonic ballistic missile. Taken together, the tests point to a quickening push to build advanced weapons at home and cut reliance on foreign defence technology — and Fa’az is the latest piece of that effort.