Pakistan has inducted on Sunday an advanced Chinese-made Low to Medium Altitude Air Defense System (LOMADS) LY-80 on its air defense system, a bid to strengthen its capabilities in its air defense arsenal.

"LY-80 LOMADS increases our response capability to current and emerging air defense threats," Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who was the chief guest during the Induction Ceremony at Army Auditorium on Sunday, said.

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The China-build LY-80 is a mobile air defense system that is capable of locating and destroying different aerial targets at longer ranges flying at low and medium altitude. The launcher missile system is carried by a vehicle containing a command and control station behind the cab with six firing missile containers.

These containers could tilt back, allowing the missiles to be fire straight up like Vertical launch System cells. The LY-80 could intercept a target flying within a 15-meter to 18-kilometer altitude. Its maximum interception range for combat aircraft is 40 kilometers, and between 3.5 kilometers and 12 kilometers for cruise missiles flying at an altitude of 50 meters at a speed of 300 meters per second, according to Pakistan Observer.

Moreover, the LY-80's ability to intercept very low-flying targets (at about 40 kilometers) fills in the gap between the HQ-7 short-range SAM and the HQ-9 long-range SAM systems.

Pakistan initially bought a batch of 3X batteries of LY-80 LOMADS with 8X IBIS-150AD mobile radars in 2014. The system is compatible with Pakistan's 'Raabta' C4ISR. This added an extended area defense layer to Pakistan's SPADA-2000 and Crotale systems.

The recent move showed that Pakistan remains as China's "primary customer" for conventional weapons. It also portrays both countries' growing defense and strategic relationship.

Tagschina, Pakistan, air defense system, LY-80 LOMADS