Pakistan test-fires cruise missile

Pakistan on Thursday successfully tested a ground-hugging cruise missile capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said. The Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) missile, developed exclusively for launch from the air, has a range of 350 kilometres (217 miles), a statement said.
"It has enabled Pakistan to achieve a greater strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea," it said. "It is a low-altitude, terrain-following missile with high manoeuvrability, and can deliver all types of warheads, with great accuracy," it said.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated the Pakistani scientists and engineers on their "outstanding" success. "The missile test is part of a continuing process of validating the design parameters of the weapon system," the statement said.