H-4 SOW

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 60 km.

Three successful tests were conducted, the last one in 2003, which led to field deployment on the Dassault Mirage III and Mirage V strike 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.{{cite news|last=Ansari|first=Usman|title=Despite Missile Integration, Nuke Role Unlikely for Pakistan's JF-17|url=http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130207/DEFREG03/302070024/Despite-Missile-Integration-Nuke-Role-Unlikely-Pakistan-8217-s-JF-17|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130709003601/http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130207/DEFREG03/302070024/Despite-Missile-Integration-Nuke-Role-Unlikely-Pakistan-8217-s-JF-17|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 July 2013|accessdate=5 September 2013|publisher=Defense News|date=7 February 2013}}

The H-4's stated range of 120 km 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.{{cite web|first=Usman|last=Ansari|title=The JF-17 Thunder: A hefty punch at an affordable price.|url=http://usmanansari.com/id16.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175817/http://usmanansari.com/id16.html|archivedate=17 July 2011}}{{cite web|url=https://quwa.org/2017/03/16/profile-denel-dynamics-raptor-stand-off-weapon/|title=Profile: Denel Dynamics Raptor Stand-Off Weapon|date=16 March 2017 |accessdate=3 December 2019|quote=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.}}{{Cite web |title=The South African Air Force |url=https://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/weapons/58/raptor-2-guided-bomb |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=www.saairforce.co.za}}{{Cite web |title=The South African Air Force |url=https://www.saairforce.co.za/the-airforce/weapons/59/raptor-1-glide-bomb-h-2 |access-date=2024-12-24 |website=www.saairforce.co.za}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://casstt.com/post/india-s-february-miscalculation-and-future-of-indo-pak-aerial-front/82|title='India's February Miscalculation and Future of Indo-Pak Aerial Front|website=Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies}}{{cite web|url=https://pakistanpolitico.com/pulwama-two-years-on/|website=PakistanPolitico.com|author=Kaiser Tufail|title=Pulwama: Two years on|date=18 February 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://defencejournal.com/2019/07/10/pulwama-from-bluster-to-a-whimper/|website=DefenceJournal.com|author=Kaiser Tufail|title=Pulwama-From bluster to whimper|date=10 July 2019}}{{cite web | url=https://www.keymilitary.com/article/operation-swift-retort-one-year | title=Operation Swift Retort one year on|website=KeyMilitary.com|author=Alan Warnes | date=19 March 2020}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://theprint.in/defence/three-live-bombs-fired-by-pakistani-fighter-aircraft-are-still-lying-at-loc/215825/|title=Three live bombs fired by Pakistani fighter aircraft are still lying at LoC|first=Snehesh Alex|last=Philip|date=2 April 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/latest/914932/pakistan-dropped-bombs-on-indian-military-installations-say-armed-forces-in-joint-briefing|title=Pakistani bombs fell in Indian army compounds, didn't cause damage, say armed forces|website=Scroll.in|date=28 February 2019 }}

• {{flag|Pakistan}}: Pakistan Air force

• {{lwc|H-2 SOW}}: Lighter Variant of the H-4.
• {{lwc|GBU-53/B}}
• {{lwc|AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://dawn.com/news/130099/paf-adds-new-bombs-to-its-arsenal Dawn – a Pakistani newspaper article on H-4]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121020042656/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-12-18/pakistan/27196693_1_missiles-pakistan-air-force-inducts The Times of India – an Indian newspaper article on H-4]
• [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20031219/world.htm#2 The Tribune – an Indian newspaper article on H-4]
• [http://kaiser-aeronaut.blogspot.com/ Aeronaut]

{{Pakistan Missiles}}

Category:Post–Cold War weapons of Pakistan

Category:Aerial bombs of Pakistan

Category:Guided bombs

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 2000s