Pakistan has conducted a successful at-sea test of its new SMASH anti-ship ballistic missile, marking the first launch of the system from a naval platform, the military announced on Wednesday.
The missile, described by Pakistani defense officials as an indigenously developed Mach‑8‑class weapon, is designed for rapid, high‑energy strikes against surface targets. In a statement, Inter-Services Public Relations called the test “a historic breakthrough in South Asian naval warfare.”
Unlike cruise missiles that fly at low altitude, the SMASH system follows what officials describe as a quasi-ballistic trajectory. The missile rapidly boosts to altitude before diving onto its target at hypersonic-class closing speeds, using terminal maneuvers similar to manoeuvrable re-entry vehicles to complicate interception.
According to the information released, the missile’s endgame flight characteristics sharply compress reaction time for shipboard defenses. Its terminal maneuvers “force shipboard defenses into a reaction window of mere seconds, overwhelming intercept logic and sensor tracking,” Pakistani officials said.
Pakistan has not disclosed when the SMASH missile will enter operational service, and no details were provided on the platform used for the test.