In the evolving landscape of South Asian security, the missile capabilities of Pakistan and China represent a formidable combined threat to India. As of early 2026, both nations have advanced their rocket and missile programs significantly, with Pakistan establishing a dedicated Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC) and China maintaining the world’s largest and most sophisticated People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). These developments, accelerated by recent regional tensions—including the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict known as Operation Sindoor—underscore the deepening asymmetry in missile power and the two-front dilemma India faces.
Pakistan’s Advancing Missile Arsenal and the ARFC
Pakistan has made notable strides in its missile forces, particularly in conventional precision-strike systems. In August 2025, following the May conflict with India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the creation of the Army Rocket Force Command (ARFC), a centralized entity to manage and operate conventional rockets and missiles. Modeled in part after China’s PLARF, the ARFC consolidates short-to-medium-range systems, enhancing operational readiness, efficiency, and rapid deployment for deterrence and limited conflicts.
Key systems include the evolving Fatah series of guided rockets, with the Fatah-5 planned for testing in 2026, offering a projected range of up to 1,000 km. This would enable deep precision strikes into Indian territory while staying below nuclear thresholds. Earlier variants like Fatah-1 (140 km) and Fatah-2 (250-400 km) provide layered battlefield support, while the Fatah-4 (a 750 km cruise missile) was successfully tested in late 2025 under the new command.
Air-launched capabilities received a boost with the January 2026 successful test of the Taimoor air-launched cruise missile (ALCM). Launched from Mirage IIIEA fighters, it achieves a 600 km range, features low-altitude terrain-hugging flight to evade defenses, and targets land and sea with high precision using conventional warheads. It builds on the Ra’ad and Ra’ad-II family, emphasizing stealth and survivability.
Pakistan’s arsenal also includes established systems like the Babur cruise missiles, Nasr tactical ballistic missiles, and various anti-ship options, many influenced by Chinese technology. The ARFC focuses on conventional payloads, providing a calibrated escalation ladder from battlefield to theater strikes.
While Pakistan’s inventory remains smaller and less diverse than India’s in some areas, the ARFC’s formation addresses gaps exposed in 2025, prioritizing mobility, affordability, and integration for asymmetric advantages.
China’s Dominant PLARF: A Global Powerhouse
China’s missile forces dwarf those of most nations, with the PLARF boasting an inventory exceeding thousands of missiles across categories. As of recent assessments, China fields approximately 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) like the DF-41 (MIRV-capable, exceeding 11,000 km range), alongside DF-5 and DF-31 variants, supporting over 600 operational nuclear warheads (projected to surpass 1,000 by 2030).
In intermediate and medium ranges, systems like the DF-26 (hundreds of launchers, anti-ship “Guam Killer” role) and DF-27 (5,000-8,000 km, hypersonic glide vehicle) provide formidable regional and extended reach. The DF-17 hypersonic missile adds maneuverable, high-speed strikes. These capabilities enable saturation attacks, anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) in the Indo-Pacific, and deep strikes against multiple adversaries.
China’s advancements include hypersonic technology, electronic warfare integration, and joint operations with air and naval platforms, creating overwhelming firepower with redundancy and precision.
The Combined Challenge for India
India maintains a credible missile arsenal, including the Agni series (up to 5,000+ km nuclear-capable), BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles (extended ranges), Pralay quasi-ballistic systems, and Pinaka rockets. Recent inductions and plans for an Integrated Rocket Force aim to unify conventional systems like Pinaka, Pralay, and BrahMos.
However, the synergy between Pakistan and China poses a major challenge. Pakistan’s western-front strikes (e.g., Fatah-5 covering much of India) could combine with China’s northern and eastern salvos (DF-27/DF-17 overwhelming defenses), saturating systems like India’s S-400.
The 2025 Operation Sindoor highlighted this dynamic: India conducted precision strikes on terror infrastructure in response to a Pahalgam attack, but Pakistan—bolstered by Chinese-supplied gear like J-10C fighters, PL-15 missiles, and air defenses—achieved notable successes, including downing Indian aircraft. This exposed vulnerabilities in integration and countermeasures, while demonstrating deeper China-Pakistan military collaboration, including real-time intelligence sharing.
The result is a “one-front reinforced” threat: China’s vast, hypersonic-heavy arsenal indirectly amplifies Pakistan’s capabilities, stretching India’s resources across two fronts. While India covers Pakistan comprehensively, China’s superior numbers, ranges, and technology create asymmetry, raising escalation risks in any conflict.
Pakistan and China’s missile forces are increasingly powerful and integrated, posing a significant strategic challenge to India. The ARFC and PLARF advancements, combined with lessons from 2025, emphasize the need for India to accelerate its own rocket force, enhance defenses, and strengthen joint capabilities. In an era of precision and saturation strikes, maintaining deterrence across multiple domains remains critical for regional stability.
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