Pakistan and India fought four major wars and Pakistan lost all the wars from India. And in 1971 they lost east Pakistan , which is now Bangladesh.
The clash was the first between Pakistan and India in five decades, dangerously exacerbating tensions to the point where both countries reportedly put their missiles on alert. In the absence of direct hostilities, it was the competition in the development of ballistic missiles that has now become the main critical element of the Indo-Pakistani conflict.
Development
The development of Shaheen 3 was carried out in an environment of increased secrecy, information was extremely scarce. It is known that the Pakistan National Technical and Scientific Commission began developing a rocket in the early 2000s in response to the Indian Agni 3 missile. Pakistan conducted two successful missile tests in 2015. In March 2016, during the military parade, it was first publicly demonstrated. Since then, there is no news about Shaheen 3. There is also no evidence that the rocket is deployed in the troops. The rocket does not even continue testing. Although only this year, Pakistan tested a series of ballistic missiles: Nasr, Ghaznavi, Shaheen-1, Shaheen-2.
Design
The basis for the design of the rocket was the previously developed Shaheen 2 rocket. The Shaheen 3 rocket is a two-stage medium-range solid-fuel ballistic missile. A missile is capable of carrying both a nuclear and conventional warhead. The rocket engine of the new rocket is longer, which made it possible to use more fuel and, accordingly, increased the flight range. Confirmed flight range – 2750 km. This is the longest range of all Pakistan missiles. The design of the rocket is not something new: its aerodynamic rudders in the first stage are archaic for such large ballistic missiles. But for the confrontation of India, this is enough.
Problem areas
India is developing missile defense systems, and the very appearance of Pakistan’s Shaheen 3 does little to change. To effectively counter the Indian missile defense system, Pakistan will have to work to equip the Shaheen 3 with several separable warheads with individually guided warheads. Without this, the effectiveness of the rocket would be extremely doubtful. The second problem is that to combat Indian naval vessels in the Bay of Bengal, Shaheen 3 will require a high-precision guidance system, which will also have to track the movement of the vessel and adjust the missile’s flight path accordingly. While she is gone.
China help
The missile is mobile and installed on a Chinese launcher, sources in the Indian government say. It is reported that it was China that manufactured and provided Pakistan with 16 mobile launchers for the Shaheen 3 rocket. Further, the Pakistan National Engineering and Science Commission formed an assembly line in the Punjabi national complex.
This is due to the close allied relations of Pakistan with China. China has long been accused by the world community of promoting Pakistani nuclear and missile programs, but it officially denies any help to Pakistan. Indian sources say that Pakistan and China began negotiations on the supply of mobile units in 2012. Probably in early 2016, Pakistan received the first installations.
A Chinese manufacturer of mobile launchers, the National Corporation for the Import and Export of Precision Machines, is also known for other attempts to transfer sensitive technologies to other countries. So, she tried to sell Turkey the HQ-9 ground-based missile system. In addition, it is believed that it was the Chinese corporation that supplied the mobile launchers for ballistic missiles in North Korea.
Conclusion
Shaheen 3 doesn’t really make much of a difference with regard to containment potential. Pakistan can attack all the main settlements and strategic targets of India with the Shaheen 2 missile, the maximum confirmed range of which is 2000 km, that is, the missile does not reach only the extreme eastern part of India. The extra distance allows the missile to aim at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Indian territory) in the Bay of Bengal, which, according to General Khalid Kidwai , is the only reason for its development.
Thus, Pakistan seeks to deprive India of the possibility of a counter strike. But this is more than a deterrent. Instead of reinforcing the concept of mutual assured destruction, this will further destabilize the concept of deterrence, which will push India to further develop its missile defense program, which will certainly be counterproductive for Pakistan itself.