Pakistan Reports First Hangor Submarine Missile Firing

Pakistan’s navy announced that its submarine PNSM Hangor completed its first publicly reported live anti-ship missile firing in the North Arabian Sea, engaging a designated long-range target, according to the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations office. Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf witnessed the firing, which Pakistan said took place on September 27. The announcement marks a weapons-test milestone for the first of eight Hangor-class submarines Pakistan is acquiring. The public account did not identify the missile, give its range or describe the target. It also did not say whether the submarine launched while submerged. The reported engagement has not been independently verified in the information available. The test demonstrates a reported ability to fire an anti-ship cruise missile from the submarine, but it does not establish how the vessel or weapon would perform in combat. An exercise target does not reproduce the actions a warship could take, such as changing course or using countermeasures, and the reported account offers no details about how the target was detected or tracked.