Type Medium-range subsonic cruise missile
Place of origin PakistanService historyIn service 11 August 2005
Used by Pakistan Army
Production historyManufacturer National Defence Complex (NDC)
SpecificationsWeight <1500 kg (payload >300 kg)
Length 6.25 m (7 m with
booster)
Diameter 0.52 m
Warhead Conventional or nuclear
Engine Turbofan
(Solid-fuel rocket booster during launch)
Wingspan 2.67 m
Propellant Solid fuel (booster rocket)
Liquid fuel (jet engine)
OperationalRange 700 km (435 mi)
Speed 880 km/h or 550 mph (Mach 0.8)
GuidanceSystem INS, TERCOM/DSMAC, GPS
Launch
platform Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL)The missile tests are part of a process of validating the system. Babur, which can carry strategic and conventional warheads, has stealth capabilities, is a low flying, terrain hugging missile with high maneuverability, pin point accuracy and radar avoidance features.
It also incorporates the modern cruise missile technology of Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching & Area Co-relation (DSMAC).
The test was witnessed by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shamim Wynne, Director General Strategic Plans Division, Lieutenant General (retired) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Commander Army Strategic Force Command Lieutenant General Jamil Haider, Chairman NESCOM Muhammad Irfan Burney, senior officers from the armed forces and strategic organizations, scientists and engineers.
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee reiterated that the test will go a long way in consolidatingPakistan’s strategic deterrence capability, and further strengthening national security.
Pakistan’s resolve and commitment to continue its strategic programme will remain paramount, he added.
The successful test has also been warmly appreciated by the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, who have congratulated the scientists and engineers on their outstanding success.
Babur (Urdu: بابر) (Babur means Lion in Urdu) (named after the first Mughal Emperor Zahir ud-Din Babur), also designated Hatf VII, is the first land attack cruise missile to be developed by Pakistan.
Launched from ground-based transporter erector launchers, warships and submarines, the Babur can be armed with a conventional or nuclear warhead and has a reported range of 700 km (435 miles). The missile is designed to avoid radar detection and penetrate enemy air defences. Serial production of the Babur started in October 2005.
Origins
It has been speculated that Babur is based on the BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile, after six Tomahawks crash-landed on Pakistani territory in 1998 during US airstrikes on targets in Afghanistan, and its design seems to show this influence. The propulsion system appears to approximate that of BGM-109 Tomahawk according to videos of its launch. However, there is no confirmation of this and the Pakistani missile development organisation NESCOM has rejected this theory.
Babur Design
The Babur’s airframe is made up of a tubular fuselage, with a pair of folded wings attached to the middle section and the empennage at the rear along with the propulsion system. Propelled by a jet engine (either turbofan or turbojet), the Babur has a maximum speed of approximately 550 mph. On launch, a booster rocket provides additional thrust to accelerate the missile away from the launch vehicle. After the launch the wings unfold, the booster rocket is jettisoned and the jet engine started.
The Babur’s guidance system uses a combination of inertial navigation systems, terrain contour matching (TERCOM) and GPS satellite guidance. The guidance system reportedly gives the missile pinpoint accuracy.
A transporter erector launcher (TEL) armed with four Babur cruise missiles, on display at the IDEAS 2008 defence exhibition, Karachi, Pakistan.
The missile is stated to have a high degree of maneuverability, allowing it to “hug” the terrain, and “near-stealth” capabilities.Terrain hugging ability helps the missile avoid enemy radar detection by utilizing “terrain masking”, giving Babur the capability to penetrate enemy air defence systems undetected and survive until reaching the target. The missile’s design features can be compared with the American BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile.
More advanced versions of the Babur are under development. Later versions are planned to have a range of 1000 km [4][9] and be capable of being launched from submarines such as the Pakistan Navy’s Agosta 90B class submarine and possible future Type 214 submarine.
Operational history
The 2005 test-launch of the Babur cruise missile.
On August 12, 2005, Pakistan publicly announced that it had successfully test fired a nuclear-capable cruise missile with a range of 500 km. The missile was launched from a land based transporter erector launcher(TEL). The unannounced initial launch on 11 August 2005 caught much of the international community by surprise due to the technically advanced nature of the missile, as well as the fact that Pakistan did not notify India of its test-firing as the existing notification agreement is limited to ballistic missile testing only.
On March 22, 2007, Pakistan test-fired an upgraded version of the Babur cruise missile, with an extended range of 700 km. Pakistan carried out two more tests of Babur on July 26, 2007 and December 11, 2007. Thetested upgrades are believed to have been the ability to fire the missile from airborne platforms. It is currently unclear if Pakistan Air Force (PAF) plans on using Babur on its aircraft because PAF has already added an air-launched cruise missile, Ra’ad ALCM, to its arsenal.
On May 6, 2009, Pakistan conducted another test-firing but did not announce the event until 9 May 2009, citing political reasons. At this point in time it is unlikely it the missile will be developed further given the politicaltensions with India.
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