Another recent picture taken during preparations for the 2023 Pakistan Day Parade has highlighted the possibilities of nuclear weapons in JF-17 Thunder Block II of Pakistan. This photograph shows a Ra’ad air-launched cruise missile carried on a JF-17, the first public sighting of this configuration.
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) verified that the Ra’ad-I nuclear missile was equipped on a JF-17 Thunder Block II with reference to pictures from Pakistan Day Parades held in 2023. “For the record, this was the first time such an arrangement had been seen publicly,” says FAS.
Comparison to earlier missiles shown at previous annual Pakistan Day Parades demonstrated what type of Ra’ad missile appeared in the picture. Up until 2022, external differences between versions were not clear as they mostly shared ‘two-tail’ designs like that on RAAD-I and new X-shaped fins (in 2017). In fact, FAS reported that while the last launched Ra’ad-II series which got presented during 2022 and 2024 parades had different ‘x-shaped’ fin tail configuration; the photographed JF-17’s rocket corresponded more closely to that found on Ra’ad-I having twin tails.
With reference measurements from the vehicles carrying these bombs, Vanishing Point feature in Photoshop was used to evaluate lengths of both Ra’ad-I and Ra’ad-II which turned out to be approximately equal to each other at about 4.9 meters. Also using dimensions relative to those of this plane led to a comparable estimate for its length pointing as well towards its being around same size – 4.9 meters long. Their dimensions along with their tail fins also indicate that this is likely one using Taimoor or newer ones called raid two because it has similar characteristics with regards to radicals and numbers according Eliana johns research.
This picture suggests how much Pakistan has accomplished in terms of equipping its JF-17s as a nuclear strike replacement or augmentation capability for Mirage III/Vs. Yet, whether Pakistan will hold a gravitation-based nuclear bomb or move into profiled air-to-ground missiles remains contentious.
These changes take place within the framework of an ongoing battle to become the region’s nuclear powers by South Asian neighbors like China, India and Pakistan which are using advanced technologies such as MIRVs (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles). The escalation of tensions and development of short-range nuclear-capable systems with limited yields by Pakistan are driving fears that India-Pakistan arm race could occur at a much faster pace thereby raising the risks of getting dragged into a conflict between these two countries.
