On 28 April 2026, Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced that the Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) conducted a successful training launch of the Fatah-II (Fatah 2) surface-to-surface missile, a 400 km-range guided ballistic missile developed by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and marketed internationally by Global Industrial and Defence Solutions (GIDS).
According to the ISPR, the Fatah-II launch “aimed at training of troops, validating various technical parameters and performance evaluation of different sub-systems incorporated for improved accuracy and enhanced survivability.”
The Fatah-II missile is equipped with advanced avionics, a modern navigation system, and what the ISPR described as a “unique trajectory” and manoeuvrability features intended to defeat missile defence systems. At 400 km, the Fatah-II’s range places it in the tactical ballistic missile (TBM) class – comparable to the Russian Iskander or American Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
Senior officials from the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Army Rocket Force Command, and the Pakistan Army (PA) witnessed the Fatah-II launch, alongside scientists and engineers from Pakistan’s strategic organizations. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir commended the teams involved.
The Fatah-II was first tested in December 2023 and is understood to have been inducted into the PA’s inventory in 2024.
The Fatah-II’s launcher consists of a twin-cell canister system mounted on an 8×8 wheeled chassis. This two-round configuration distinguishes the Fatah-II from the smaller Fatah-I, which uses an eight-cell launcher – reflecting the Fatah-II’s larger airframe and heavier payload.
The April 2026 test is notable for being framed as a “training launch” rather than a developmental test. This distinction suggests that the Fatah-II has moved beyond the testing phase and is now an operational system within the ARFC’s deployed inventory, with the launch serving to validate readiness and crew proficiency rather than prove the missile’s core design.
This is the first publicly acknowledged Fatah-II firing since the formation of the ARFC in August 2025, when the PA formally organized its growing arsenal of conventional guided rockets and missiles under a dedicated command structure.
It is also the first known Fatah-II launch since the 2025 conflict with India, during which the PA employed the shorter-ranged Fatah-I guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) in combat.
Where the Fatah-II Fits in Pakistan’s Precision-Strike Posture
The Fatah-II training launch comes barely a day after Quwa published an analysis of the PA’s broader shift towards an integrated precision-fire and precision-strike strategy. The timing, while likely coincidental, underscores how central the ARFC and the Fatah family of guided surface-to-surface missiles have become to the PA’s evolving doctrine.
As Quwa has noted, the general idea behind the PA’s precision-fire and precision-strike doctrine is to deploy sooner, neutralize targets faster, and reach farther through a wider array of platforms.
Within this framework, the Fatah-II occupies the ‘precision-strike’ tier – i.e., it is designed for longer-range engagements intended to achieve broader tactical or even strategic effects, such as neutralizing air defence sites, logistics hubs, or command infrastructure.
The Fatah-II sits alongside the 140 km-range Fatah-I GMLRS and the 750 km-range Fatah-IV ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) in the ARFC’s disclosed strike portfolio.
Together, these three Fatah variants provide the PA with a layered conventional strike capability spanning 140 km to 750 km – covering targets from forward-deployed formations to deep-rear infrastructure.
