Pakistan test fires cruise missile

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan, a South Asian nation with nuclear capability, says it has successfully test-fired a new missile that "can carry all types of warheads."

The army said in a statement that the country on Saturday fired an "air-launched cruise missile called Hatf-8, or Ra'ad -- which means thunder in Arabic.

The missile has "a range of "350 kilometers" or nearly 220 miles "for now."

And, it has been designed exclusively for launch from a variety of Pakistan's air platforms."

"The missile has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing. The Ra'ad can carry all types of warheads and has an accuracy comparable to Pakistan's longer Babur cruise missile."

The development prompted President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to congratulate the scientists and engineers involved in the project.

"Pakistan's defense will continue to be strengthened as an imperative of national security, they said, and assured all support to Pakistan's strategic program," the army said.

Pakistan and India, its neighbor and nuclear rival, have carried out missile tests in the past and they have become routine.

Both countries reached an agreement in 2006 that stipulates each will notify the other before conducting missile tests, and a Pakistani government official told CNN that Pakistan informed India about this latest test. E-mail to a friend

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