Pakistan’s Babur missile test claim may be fake, sources

The video showed the missile exiting the water after apparently being launched from a submarine, cruising towards and then striking its target. Oddly, two missiles, not one, are seen in the video, one missile that emerges from the water is grey and another shown in a subsequent shot is orange. 

Sources in the Indian Navy, which monitors such activity, have confirmed to NDTV that there was no missile test off the coast of Pakistan on Monday. The video may have older footage, they say. 

While Pakistan claimed launching the missile from a submarine yesterday, the Navy is convinced the test shown in the video is from a submerged floating launch test platform which measures various parameters of the missile once it’s launched underwater. Integration of the missile with Pakistan fleet of Agosta 90B submarine is unlikely to have taken place. 

On Monday, Pakistan claimed its “first successful test of the Babur missile” implying that it has completed its nuclear triad since it already has land-based ballistic missiles as well as tactical nuclear bombs that it can drop from its fighter aircraft. The Babur has a range of at least 450 km. 

Pakistan’s military media wing was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Pakistan eyes this hallmark development as a step towards reinforcing the policy of credible minimum deterrence.”