Pakistan has successfully flight-tested its first indigenously developed air-to-air missile, the military announced on 3 November, in a step towards arming its JF-17 fighters with a home-grown weapon. The Pakistan Air Force's press wing, the Directorate General of Public Relations, said Fa'az — Urdu for Victorious — had passed its first flight test and would significantly enhance the force's operational flexibility.

The announcement was accompanied by video footage showing the missile leaving an underwing pylon of a JF-17 Thunder fighter. Analysts identified the aircraft as a JF-17 Block-1 and the weapon as the Fa'az-IIR, the imaging infrared version of the missile; the military itself did not name the variant or the aircraft in its statement.

Two variants shown in 2023

The missile family was first shown publicly in mock-up form at the International Defence Industry Fair in Turkey in 2023, when the state-owned Global Industrial and Defence Solutions displayed two versions: the radar-guided Fa'az-RF and the infrared-guided Fa'az-IIR. The company advertised both as medium-range weapons with ranges above 100 kilometres and speeds of about Mach 3.5, but those are manufacturer figures, not test results. The missile was developed by the Air Weapons Complex of the National Engineering and Scientific Commission.

What remains undisclosed

Pakistan has released no details of the test itself — no range, speed, target or engagement parameters, and no date for the missile to enter service. The radar-guided Fa'az-RF has not been flight-tested publicly. The test follows two other missile announcements in October, the extended-range Fatah-IV cruise missile on 6 October and the Fatah-2 ballistic missile on 13 October. Douglas Barrie of the International Institute for Strategic Studies told The War Zone the missile's seeker may have been supplied by China, a possibility that remains unconfirmed.