FROM a geopolitical perspective, the transfer of DF-17 to Pakistan would allow China to reinforce its position in South Asia’s strategic architecture, leveraging its advanced weapon systems to tip the regional power equation in Pakistan’s favour.
Pakistan is believed to be exploring two potential avenues: a direct transfer of China’s DF-ZF HGV technology or a joint-development arrangement built on the existing intelligence sharing and defence cooperation framework between China and Pakistan.
In a move that could irreversibly alter the strategic calculus of South Asia, Pakistan is to be in early-stage negotiations with China to acquire advanced hypersonic missile technology, specifically the DF-17 system integrated with the DF-ZF Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV). Pakistan’s pursuit of this next-generation capability is driven by its need to counter India’s increasingly formidable multi-layered missile defence network. The acquisition of hypersonic glide vehicle technology—capable of evading even the most sophisticated missile defence systems—could grant Pakistan a critical edge in both strategic deterrence and rapid precision strike capabilities.
Given the depth of China-Pakistan military ties and China’s longstanding willingness to transfer sensitive technologies to its closest regional ally, the realisation of this missile deal appears to be only a matter of time. China currently accounts for 81percent of Pakistan’s total arms imports over the past five years, solidifying its position as Pakistan’s primary weapons supplier and strategic lifeline in the face of India’s growing power projection. China has offered a comprehensive military aid package to Pakistan including the J-35A fifth-generation stealth fighter, the HQ-19 long-range missile defence system and the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft.
The Chinese military aid package to Pakistan marks a major diplomatic and defence achievement. China’s arms exports to Pakistan totalled over US $ 5.28 billion between 2018 and 2023—representing 63 percent of its global arms exports during that period. This marks a seven percent increase from the preceding five-year window (2015–2020), when 74 percent of Pakistan’s arms imports originated from China, underscoring the increasingly defence-centric nature of bilateral relations. The missile’s 2,000–2,500 km range would place nearly all of India’s strategic command centres, nuclear infrastructure and high-value urban targets within minutes of a Pakistani launch.
The system’s ability to conduct pre-emptive strikes against India’s mobile assets—including Agni-series ballistic missile platforms and Rafale fighter squadrons—would enhance Pakistan’s strike options in high-tempo conflict scenarios. Regionally, the introduction of hypersonic weapons into Pakistan’s arsenal would inject new power into military planning, particularly for contingency operations. The DF-17 could enable Pakistan to execute a decapitation strike doctrine—crippling India’s command-and-control infrastructure before retaliatory action could be coordinated, raising the spectre of accidental nuclear escalation.
Even in conventional warfare, the DF-17 poses a formidable threat; its maneuverability and speed could neutralize radar nodes and point-defence systems within seconds, clearing the path for follow-on air and ground assaults. If modified for deployment on naval or mobile road-based platforms, the DF-17 could grant Pakistan a flexible, mobile hypersonic strike force that would be extremely difficult for Indian or American surveillance assets to track or interdict.
The DF-17 acquisition would elevate Pakistan’s military doctrine into the realm of fifth-generation strike warfare, where speed, precision and first-strike survivability dominate the modern battlefield equation. An HGV is an advanced re-entry warhead that detaches from a ballistic missile at high altitude and glides through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds—above Mach 5—while executing lateral and evasive manoeuvres to defeat missile defence systems. Unlike traditional ballistic missiles that follow predictable parabolic arcs, HGVs re-enter the atmosphere on flatter, low-altitude trajectories, making them far more difficult for radar systems and interceptors to track and neutralize. China’s DF-17 has been confirmed as the world’s first deployed hypersonic missile system carrying a glide vehicle, capable of striking targets over 2,500 km away while maintaining maneuverability throughout its descent. The defining arms race of the 21st century will not be about the number of missiles—but about who strikes first, faster and with absolute certainty of impact.
—The writer is author of several books based in UK.
