Pakistan Missile Milestones - 1961-2000
The
Risk
Report
Volume
6
Number
5
(September-October
2000)
1961: Establishment of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), Pakistan's space agency.
1962: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) helps train Pakistani scientists and engineers; Pakistan launches its first sounding rocket.
1985: Congress passes the Pressler Amendment barring U.S. aid unless the U.S. president can certify Pakistan does not possess a nuclear explosive device.
1989: Hatf-1 and Hatf-2 missiles are fired to ranges of 80 and 300 kilometers respectively, according to Pakistani sources; Pakistan and China sign a ten-year cooperation agreement in defense science, technology and industry, including joint procurement, research and development, production and technology transfer.
1990: President Bush can no longer certify Pakistan has no nuclear weapons; United States suspends military aid to Pakistan.
1991: The United States punishes two Chinese entities and Pakistan's SUPARCO for missile proliferation activities.
1993: The United States punishes Pakistan's Ministry of Defense and ten Chinese entities for missile proliferation activities.
1994: Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto says the testing and deployment of India's Prithvi surface-to-surface missile "threatens to trigger a missile race in the subcontinent."
1995: U.S. intelligence says it has strong evidence that Pakistan is building storage sheds, mobile launchers and maintenance facilities at the Sargodha military airbase for Chinese-supplied M-11 missiles.
July 1995: U.S. intelligence says evidence is incontrovertible that storage crates at Sargodha Air Force Base contain more than 30 M-11 medium range missiles, delivered by China in 1992. Both Pakistan and China deny the deal.
March 1996: Taiwan confiscates a 15 tons of ammonium perchlorate, used in the production of missile propellant, from a North Korean freighter bound for SUPARCO.
June 1996: Intelligence reports claim that Pakistan has uncrated and deployed the M-11 missiles.
September 1996: Intelligence reports claim that China has supplied Pakistan with blueprints and equipment to build missiles.
December 1996: Hong Kong custom officers raid a Chinese vessel and find 10 tonnes of ammonium perchlorate. The cargo is believed to have been shipped by the North Korean company Lyongaksan and bound for SUPARCO.
July 1997: SUPARCO test fires a Hatf-3 missile, with a range of 300 kilometers.
April 1998: Pakistan tests the Ghauri surface-to-surface nuclear-capable missile. According to Pakistani sources, the liquid-fueled missile can carry a 700 kilogram payload 1,500 kilometers.
May 1998: The U.S. State Department imposes two-year sanctions on Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Changgwang Sinyong Corporation of North Korea for cooperating on missile development.
May 1998: Pakistan sets off nuclear weapon tests in response to India's.
July 1998: The Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, led by Donald H. Rumsfeld, concludes that Pakistan has acquired production facilities to build the Ghauri missile, which is described as a version of the North Korean Nodong. It also concludes that Pakistan possesses M-11 missiles obtained from China and may be able to produce the "Tarmuk" missile based on the Chinese M-11.
August 1998: Pakistan claims it has recovered an American Tomahawk missile, which was fired during an American attack against terrorist camps in Afghanistan. Some Pakistani officials claim the find was a "jackpot" that could help advance Pakistan's missile technology, but American defense officials disagree.
September 1998: Pakistan completes a mobile, re-usable launcher designed for use with the solid fuel nuclear-capable Shaheen I ballistic missile.
January 1999: Pakistan announces it is ready to test the Shaheen I missile. The solid fuel missile has a range of 750 kilometers, and is designed to counter India's nuclear-capable Prithvi missiles.
February 1999: Indian Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meet in Lahore, Pakistan. The leaders agree to exchange strategic information about their nuclear arsenals, to give each other advance notice of ballistic missile tests, and to increase efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue.
April 1999: Pakistan tests the liquid-fuel Ghauri II (Hatf-6) surface-to-surface missile in response to India's test of the Agni II missile. KRL officials claim that the missile has a range of 2,300 kilometers. The next day, Pakistan successfully tests the Shaheen I missile.
September 1999: KRL successfully tests the engine of the new Ghauri III ballistic missile. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry claims the Ghauri III will have a range of 2,700-3,000 kilometers, which would allow Pakistan to target all of India.
February 2000: Pakistan tests the 100-kilometer-range Hatf 1A solid-fueled surface-to-surface missile, developed by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
March 2000: Pakistan unveils the road-mobile, solid-fuel, two-stage Shaheen II medium-range missile at the annual Pakistan Day parade. Pakistani authorities claim it has a range of 2,500 kilometers and can carry a 1,000 kilogram payload.