Pakistan’s Air Force says it has hypersonic-capable missiles

Pakistan's Air Force fighter jets fly in formation during a Pakistan Day parade in Islamabad on March 23, 2022. (AFP)

• Hypersonic missiles are capable of traveling at hypersonic speed, defined as between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound
• A number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China and India, are caught up in global hypersonic weapons race

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said this week it has bolstered its war fighting capabilities by acquiring new technology including hypersonic missiles, weapons that are capable of traveling at hypersonic speed defined as between 5 and 25 times the speed of sound or about 1 to 5 miles per second.
A number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Pakistan’s ally China and archrival India, are caught up in the global hypersonic and directed-energy weapons race, with these regional powers having either developed or publicly stated intentions to develop such technology.
“Pakistan Air Force has undertaken a transformative modernization initiative to counter evolving threats in the current geostrategic threat scenario, prioritizing the induction of modern systems through smart acquisitions and indigenization,” PAF said in a statement this week.
“The acquisition of J-10C fighter jets, Unmanned Aerial Systems, modern electronic warfare platforms, force multipliers, state-of-the-art integrated air defense systems, air mobility platforms, High to medium air defense [HIMAD] and hypersonic missile capabilities at an unprecedented pace has bolstered the PAF’s war fighting capabilities.
PAF said it had adopted a “comprehensive strategy” to rebalance the power dynamics in the region and become a next generation force “with induction of niche technologies, state-of-the-art equipment and human resource trained on modern standards with contemporary architecture for Full Spectrum Cross Domain Multi Arena warfare readiness in the fields of Aviation, Space, Cyber, Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology to address the modern aerial warfare challenges.”
A key milestone in this strategic transformation has been the acquisition of fifth generation stealth fighter jets, PAF added. 
According to Defense News, a website and newspaper focusing on national security and published by Sightline Media Group, Pakistan’s main supplier of military equipment, China, unveiled its air-launched YJ-21E hypersonic missile at the 2022 Zhuhai Airshow. However, a H-6K Badger bomber carried the weapon, an aircraft type not in service with Pakistan.
Timothy Wright, a military analyst the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, told Defense News Pakistan’s hypersonic missile was likely not a new weapon but a CM-400AKG, which the country acquired five years ago for its JF-17 Thunder jets. The service’s release included a video featuring the CM-400AKG missile.
“According to the missile’s manufacturer [Aviation Industry Corporation of China], the CM-400AKG can travel at hypersonic [Mach 5-plus] speeds,” he told Defense News. “However, there has not been an independent assessment of this claim.”
“It is possible the missile is instead a high-supersonic system” reaching speeds between Mach 3 and Mach 4.9, he added.