Pakistan Joins Air-to-Air Missile Club With Successful Test Of Fa’az

Pakistan has successfully flight-tested its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, marking a significant milestone in the country’s efforts to establish its own advanced aerial weapons industry. The test of the Fa’az missile, announced by the Pakistani military alongside video footage of the event, puts the country among a relatively small group of nations developing their own air-to-air missile capabilities.

A Pakistan Air Force JF-17 carrying a red-painted Fa’az-IIR missile ahead of the first launch of the weapon. PAF/screencap

Pakistan’s military announced the successful test on November 3, describing Fa’az (Urdu for Victorious) as an indigenous weapon equipped with an advanced terminal guidance system capable of engaging aerial targets at longer ranges. The accompanying footage shows the missile being launched from a pylon under the wing of a JF-17 Thunder fighter. Importantly, the weapon visible in the video is the Fa’az-IIR, the imaging infrared (IIR) version of the missile, rather than the separately developed active radar-guided Fa’az-RF variant.

Senior Pakistani military officers, along with scientists and engineers involved in the program, witnessed the event. The country’s senior civilian and military leadership subsequently congratulated those involved.

PAKISTAN SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTS FLIGHT TEST OF FIRST INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED FA’AZ AIR- TO-AIR MISSILE

Pakistan has conducted successful flight test of first indigenously developed Fa’az air- to-air missile, marking another significant milestone in the advancement of national… pic.twitter.com/4xzy8pXyF9

— DGPR (AIR FORCE) (@DGPR_PAF) November 3, 2026

The Fa’az program has been publicly known for several years. Pakistan’s state-owned Global Industrial & Defense Solutions (GIDS) displayed mockups of two variants of the missile at the International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Turkey back in 2023.

These comprised the Fa’az-RF, an active radar-guided missile, and the Fa’az-IIR, which features an IIR seeker. At the time, GIDS described both as medium-range air-to-air missiles with advertised ranges exceeding 100 kilometers (62 miles) and maximum speeds of approximately Mach 3.5. The company also advertised seeker detection ranges of 25 kilometers for the radar-guided version and 40 kilometers for the infrared-guided variant. As always, such figures should be treated as manufacturer specifications, under optimum conditions at best, or inflated at worst. In an operational context, they will vary greatly depending on the type of engagement and the energy and altitude state of the launching aircraft.

The FA’AZ I is the export-variant of the Pakistani-made, fully locally produced and license-built of the PL-12/SD-10 BVR missile using a 100% transfer of technology agreement signed in the second part of the 2010s. It is offered with two guidance systems as different versions,… pic.twitter.com/Tv3AGMKaHh

— The STRATCOM Bureau (@OSPSF) February 17, 2024

Unlike an active radar-guided weapon, an imaging infrared missile relies on the target’s thermal signature for terminal guidance. To achieve engagements at distances of 100 kilometers or more would involve the launching aircraft providing initial targeting information, with the missile using inertial navigation and potentially datalink updates to travel toward a predicted intercept area before activating its infrared seeker for terminal acquisition. This is known as lock-on after launch (LOAL), an approach also used by other beyond-visual-range infrared missile designs.

A close-up of the Fa’az-IIR test round on a Pakistan Air Force JF-17. PAF/screencap

Speaking to TWZ, Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) research institute in London, raised the possibility — so far unconfirmed — that the seekers used in the Fa’az missiles could well have been supplied by China.

“My assumption with the Chinese imaging infrared seeker is that this is good technology,” Barrie said. “If it’s like everything else China is now doing in the guided weapons world, it’s likely up there with the best. Even a detuned version is going to be a good sensor.”

The Fa’az design has previously been compared with China’s SD-10/PL-12 air-to-air missile, also used by Pakistan. GIDS has maintained that it developed its products locally and owns the associated intellectual property rights. The extent of any technological influence from existing foreign missile designs remains unclear, but China and Pakistan already have a very close military relationship.

A mockup of export-configured PL-12AE and PL-15E air-to-air missiles on display during Airshow China in Zhuhai in 2024. Photo by Shen Ling/VCG via Getty Images

With that in mind, the program also has important implications for the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder, which is central to Pakistan’s efforts to develop a more self-reliant combat aviation industry. An indigenous air-to-air missile could give the Pakistan Air Force greater flexibility in integrating, upgrading, and sustaining its fighter weapons inventory without depending entirely on foreign suppliers.

There is also an interesting parallel between Fa’az and the JF-17 itself. The fighter was developed through a partnership with China, giving Pakistan a pathway to build up its own aerospace design and production capabilities. Fa’az could represent a similar progression in the weapons arena, particularly if its development draws on earlier Chinese missile technology while establishing a domestic design and production capability.

A two-seat JF-17B displayed alongside some of its Chinese-made weapons at Airshow China in Zhuhai in 2022. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Pakistan is not starting from scratch when it comes to advanced air-to-air weapons. The Pakistan Air Force already operates a range of imported systems, including China’s very capable PL-15E, an export version of the PL-15 beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. The weapon arms both its J-10C fighters and JF-17 Block III jets. Pakistan’s F-16s are meanwhile armed with the American-made AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), although <a

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