Pakistan Is Rolling Out The Fatah Family

The military parade on March 23 to commemorate Pakistan Day served as a useful catalog of the latest systems operated by the armed forces. Regardless of the country’s economic downturn all-weather friends such as China finished delivering nearly all the aircraft and vehicles it promised in the mid-2010s. These gifts, provided in supreme generosity and quantity, were an unmissable part of the spectacle. But during the course of the parade the army showed its latest road mobile missile launchers (calling them rockets isn’t accurate) belonging to the “Fatah” series. Since 2021 the army introduced a new 300mm system called Fatah–later renamed Fatah-I–that was armed with eight missiles in rectangular containers.

Although the launchers had Chinese-made transporters the munitions they carried are indigenous efforts. The original Fatah or Fatah-I road mobile launcher made an official public debut at the Pakistan Day military parade in 2021. This year, however, it was joined by the Fatah-II, which uses the same 8×8 transporter but mounts a tandem launcher for two ballistic missiles. A missile for the Fatah-II was test launched in December 2023. At the time the news desk of the armed forces, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), described its flight as reaching “up to 400 kilometers.” This was confirmed at the parade on March 23 when the Fatah-II’s characteristics recited by a presenter mentioned having a 400 km range. But the presented added Fatah-III and Fatah-IV missiles exist when these weren’t seen at the event. The Fatah-III has a range of 450 km while the Fatah-IV can reach 700 km, an extraordinary distance.

The introduction of the Fatah-series or “family” may appear surprising just like their brief development cycle. At this year’s Pakistan Day military parade the Fatah-I and Fatah-II were shown as part of the army’s artillery that includes older US-made M109A5 self-propelled howitzers and the Chinese-made SH15 howitzer that’s reliant on a 6×6 truck. This distinction as an artillery weapon matters as the Fatah-I in particular complements the Chinese-made A100 rocket artillery system that comes armed with a dozen 300mm munitions. Where the Fatah-I is an accurized multiple launcher the A-100 is for saturation strikes. The growth of the army’s road mobile launchers follows the same pattern as neighboring countries. India, for example, operates the Russian BM-30 Smerch together with the Pinaka Mk. I/Pinaka Mk. II. The same combination is observed in Iran where the older Fajr-5 is complemented by the Fath-360 that’s armed with either six or eight containers for its munitions. Pakistan’s unfailing ally China has done this for its ground force too by complementing its PHL-03 large caliber rocket artillery with the PHL-16.

The Fatah-II and its siblings the III and IV are far more intriguing prospects. These variants could have been tailored for the army, existing as separate artillery assets from short and medium-range ballistic missiles, and their role judging by their range is the enemy “rear”: those fixed locations vital for communications, logistics, and movement. This isn’t any different from North Korea maximizing its options for short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) to span competing systems with different payloads. The Fatah-III and Fatah-IV variants having ranges between 450 and 700 km underscores the possibility of a large-scale and protracted war across national borders. These missiles were introduced to either cripple or eliminate static locations much the same way Iran’s over-zealous ballistic missile usage is launched in salvos against unsuspecting targets. This is what happened in January when Iran attacked a terrorist hideout inside Pakistan’s borders and retaliatory strikes followed a day later. The leadership in Islamabad and the country’s armed forces know long ambiguous wars could erupt at any moment. Recent events confirm this and precision weapons delivered from whatever aircraft or vehicle are an advantage in such unpredictable crises.