Pakistan plans to begin using a new tandem-warhead version of the Shikan anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) later in 2001. Such warheads are designed to penetrate explosive reactive armor. The Shikan is a copy of the Chinese Red Arrow 8 system, which has a range of 3000 meters. The missile weighs 11.2kg. The Chinese claim it can penetrate 460mm of armor behind explosive reactive panels. The tandem-warhead uses a main conventional shaped-charge penetrator and a small explosive fragment charge in the tip of a probe. This precursor charge does not detonate the explosive panel, but instead knocks a hole through it, allowing the main charge to fire through the hole without detonating the panel.--Stephen V Cole