ISLAMABAD:The truth is that for most of its recent existence, the Pakistan Army was not capable of defending its ground forces against air attacks on its own accord. This is no understatement. Prior to the mid-2000s, the air defense capabilities of the Pakistan Army did not exceed 25 kilometers.
However, from 2007 to 2026, there was a fundamental shift. The Army developed and ran a complex ground-based air defense system that covered an area of more than 125 kilometers, employing their own battle management system to deal with the latest threat: drone swarms.
This account covers all aspects of this transformation, from the procurement process to the logic of strategic decisions made, deficiencies faced, and the guiding theory that will govern the future development of air defence in the Pakistan Army.
The Baseline Problem: A Force Without Its Own Air Defence
Prior to 2007, Pakistan’s Army’s air defence systems were sparse. The army had only three main systems. Second, the Saab RBS-70 laser beam riding missile, made in Sweden, could fire out to 9,000 meters. Finally, there were the Chinese FN-6 MANPADs, which could fire up to 6,000 meters.
None of the above systems had any range capability other than point defense. The sole exception to Pakistan’s larger surface-to-air missile history came during the 1980s with a small-scale deployment of the HQ-2 air defense missile system, which had been obsolete long before the 2000s rolled around.
The institutional repercussion of this issue was very important. There was no such identity for Pakistani army as air defense. It was solely the responsibility of the PAF in its air defense ground environment that included batteries of the Crotale and Spada 2000-Plus systems. In short, Pakistani army had to rely completely on its air force for this purpose.
In the meantime, India continued to develop its credible medium- and long-range SAM capability throughout the 1990s and 2000s by acquiring Russian-made S-300 and Buk systems. The disparity was real and mounting.
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What Pakistan Was Up to Prior to the Military Buildup
Pakistan Ordnance Factories (Wah) provided the Chinese-made 37mm anti-aircraft ammunition and 12.7mm anti-aircraft guns made for the Army’s anti-aircraft artillery. The product range of Global Industrial & Defence Solutions included the Anza Mk-II MANPADS, and a customized version of the 37mm double-barrel air defense gun fitted with automatic fire control mechanism, control handle, fire control panel, and laser sight.
The GIDS also created the Rabta C4IAir Defence Automation System, which is one of the earliest C4I products for air defence coordination between ground forces. This was a small but significant attempt towards developing an indigenous capability in battle management.
In the Defence Production Year Book of 2008-09, it was revealed that the Army reloaded 913 RBS-70 Mk-I missiles during this period — an exercise carried out to enhance the efficiency of the existing SHORAD platform, and not to augment its capabilities.
With regard to PAF efforts, the Directorate General of Munitions Production had been working till 2015–16 on the indigenous production of the Electronic Card Assembly of the Spada missile along with the VHF radar. In the case of the Pakistan Army’s air defense, till that point the efforts had been mostly import-based.
The Rational Behind Building Up
The Pakistan Army has increased its anti-aircraft capacities since 2007, following various converging trends. The increasing numbers of SAMs in the Indian inventory have resulted in a capability gap which cannot be addressed by the Pakistan Air Force alone. The Pakistan Army’s experience with counter-insurgency campaigns on the western frontier exposed their vulnerability to air threats.
While the Army used to think of air defence as an entirely PAF issue and needed PAF for support to counter threats, it started realizing the importance of having an organic and layered ground-based air defence system that was self-reliant in any complex environment. This resulted in the procurement of FM-90, LY-80, and HQ-9/P systems.
The Chinese-made FM-90, which was a short-range SAM with an operational range of around 15 kilometers, formed a link between MANPADs and medium-range SAMs. Then the Chinese developed the LY-80, which was marketed worldwide under the designation HQ-16, and its operational range was extended to around 40 kilometers. This combination started forming a structure within Pakistan Army’s air defense system.
HQ-9/P: The Long-Range Base
In terms of the acquisition of Pakistan’s army air defense systems, none was more crucial than that of the HQ-9/P, which is probably the most important single event in all of Pakistan Army air defense history for the past two decades. According to reports, the system is capable of firing beyond 125 kilometres, making it akin to the Russian S-300 system deployed by India years ago.
It is also worth noting that the HQ-9/P was critical to the battle management system that the army was developing based on the layered air defense system of the Pakistani Army. A long-range SAM without a command and control system is just a weapon. However, with one, it becomes a system. The PA bought the two in parallel, and the C4I system derived from the Rabta technology enabled this connection.
The effectiveness of the multi-level air defense system of the Pakistan Army will depend on its information exchange channels and radar coverage areas. Any deficiency in the latter two will provide an opportunity for an intelligent enemy.
New Threats: Drones and Loitering Munitions
What is the biggest threat to the Pakistan Army air defence at this point? The air defense system that exists did not have the threat of aircraft or helicopters in mind; rather, the biggest threat is that posed by the emerging drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. Rather, the real danger lies in the deployment of vast numbers of small unmanned aircraft systems and loitering munitions that are easy and cheap to manufacture and hard to detect on radar screens.
These examples have proved the danger in the actual environment. Drones have been able to destroy armoured fighting vehicles, logistics centres, and even air defence systems themselves. None of the present-day SAM batteries, no matter how long its reach, can be considered economically viable against a drone swarm when the cost of destroying one such drone exceeds ten thousand dollars.
Pakistani Air Defense of the Pakistan Army, along with all other major forces in the world today, finds itself at a dilemma on how to create a counter-UAS system that is affordable and scalable within the current IADS system framework. The answer, however, seems to lie within a combination of directed energy systems, EW jamming systems, short-range interceptors, and detection systems.
The Way Forward: Towards a Tri-Service IADS
The future direction of Pakistan Army air defense systems indicates the need for an even more integrated tri-service approach. While a purely Pakistan Army IADS system is undoubtedly highly effective, it functions under certain structural constraints because the PAF and the Navy have their own air defense systems in place. The need for an integrated tri-service IADS becomes increasingly evident as the threat scenario evolves.
Institutional obstacles are high. Air defence service independence, siloed procurement organizations, and different doctrines all hinder the development of a joint IADS. However, the rationale behind this strategy is simple. Pakistani Army air defence developed its own doctrine over twenty years. The next twenty years will determine whether the doctrine can evolve into something greater.
Transitioning from a MANPADS-equipped force to a 125 km multi-layer system has been an accomplishment. But what happens now will be much tougher – and more important.
