According to Pakistani press reports, the H-4 glide bomb was created by Pakistan's National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM), working in collaboration with the Pakistan Missile Organisation and Air Weapons Complex in Pakistan. A lighter version of the H-4 has also been produced, the H-2 SOW, which has a stated range of 60km.
Three successful tests were conducted, the last one in 2003, which led to field deployment on the Dassault Mirage III and Mirage Vstrike fighters of the Pakistan Air Force. It has also been stated that the H-4 will be integrated with the PAF's new multi-role combat aircraft, the JF-17, which is replacing the elderly fleet of Mirage III and Dassault Mirage 5 aircraft. All Pakistani JF-17 fighters, from the initial JF-17 Block 1 model to the final Block 3 version, will be capable of launching the H-4.[4]
The H-4's stated range of 120km and its glide bomb design has led to speculation that it may be a Pakistani variant of the Denel Raptor II glide bomb, which is also guided by an infrared homing seeker and has a range of 120 km and is a longer range version of Raptor also known as H2.[2][5][6][7][8]
Operational history
On 27 February 2019, 2 Pakistani Dassault Mirage-VPAs armed with H-4 SOW bombs and 2 Dassault Mirage-IIIDAs for guidance via data link carried out airstrikes in Jammu and Kashmir targeting Indian Army brigade headquarters and forward support depots. The Pakistan Air Force claimed that the planes were able to lock onto the targets, however at the last moment, Weapon systems officers took their cursor off them. This was shown by what were allegedly in-cockpit videos released by the PAF's operations directorate for the 6 September telecast which showed that the Air force did not target the Indian army sites.[9][10][11][12]
Later in April 2019, Indian media reported that a local police Bomb disposal unit carried out a bomb defusal operation in Mendhar and Rajouri, where they had successfully defused 3-4 unexploded H-4 SOW bombs.[13][14]
↑"Profile: Denel Dynamics Raptor Stand-Off Weapon". 16 March 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2019. It is believed that the Raptor I and Raptor II are being manufactured under license in Pakistan by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) as the H-2 and H-4, respectively.
