|
Round The World
New Delhi, 17 September 2013
Agni-V Ballistic Missile
INDIA’S PRIDE, NEIGHBOURS ENVY
By Prof. Arvind Kumar
(Dept. of Geopolitics & Intl Relations,
Manipal Univ)
The
growing strength of India’s
ballistic missile programme, especially during the first decade of the 21st
century, has demonstrated to the rest of the world that it has the
technological know-how and the capability of achieving long-range ballistic
missile of inter-continental series. The successes of Agni-III tests of
intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) and Agni-V, which has a range
beyond 5000 km, have indeed boosted the morale of the scientific and technical
community.
Undeniably,
India
is on spree of achieving technological prowess in delivery systems in
consonance with its threat perception. It is a well-known fact that its ballistic
missile programme is an indigenous programme and has improved remarkably over
the years despite all sorts of sanctions on defence technologies that are in
place. The delisting of companies from the sanctions list by the United States
seems to be all cosmetic.
India’s ballistic missile programme to a
large extent has been a response to China’s capabilities. Beijing’s successes in the acquisition of
inter-continental ballistic missiles, more particularly in their solid
propellant systems such as DF-31, have provided lots of impetus for India to
acquire Agni-V (ICBM). It must be noted here that the range of Agni-V will
certainly not be equivalent to DF-31 series. In fact, both the payload and the
stage of the missile will be different. However, the success of Agni-V is in
continuation of India’s
commitment on the path of achieving a credible deterrent capability.
Indeed,
the Agni-V ballistic missile will add confidence and provide the requisite deterrent
capability to India.
It has been estimated that it will become operational in less than three years.
In the current context, Agni–III is being inducted into strategic missile
groups governed by India’s
nuclear command. The Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) made a review recently on
the progress made in terms of the acquisitions of ballistic missile of various
categories by India.
The
technical specifications of Agni-V reveal that it will be cannisterised,
road-mobile and designed for quick deployment. An attempt will also be made to
achieve multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) capability. However,
it requires a greater sophistication in telemetry and navigation systems and
though it may sound an ambitious plan on the part of New
Delhi, it is a reality that India is dreaming of having MIRV
capability. In comparison, China
is yet to achieve complete mastery in MIRV technology as per reliable analysis
by the strategic community.
The
Agni-I ballistic missile of 700 km range and Agni-II ballistic missile of 2,000
km range are already operational. Agni-III of 3,500 km range is being inducted into
the core of India’s
strategic missile systems under the direct control of the NCA.
The
sub-systems and various other components of Agni-V ballistic missile would
require integration. Since, Agni-V ballistic missile is going to be a
three-stage missile, it requires testing at all stages on the ground, which is
being done by the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) located at Hyderabad. It should also be highlighted here
that Agni-V will be India’s
first strategic missile with a rocket motor built from composites and not from
the metal construction used in all earlier Agni series missiles. The challenge
before India
would now be the integration of major subsystems.
India views its existing medium and
intermediate range ballistic missiles as being almost exclusively for nuclear
weapons delivery. All systems in its ballistic missile inventory are mobile and
rely on covertness to survive a first strike and retaliate and inflict
unacceptable damage to the aggressor. New
Delhi’s no-first-use policy has been made one of the
important pillars of the Indian nuclear doctrine. Under this, the country would
first absorb the first strike and then would be fully equipped with the
second-strike capability.
Hence,
the Agni-V ballistic missile is certainly a significant step towards boosting India’s
‘second-strike’ capabilities. It will have a range of 5,000 km with a MIRV
capability. Its chances of survivability during the first strike would be very
high and its capability of reaching the targets deep inside during the second
strike will be remarkable.
Agni-V
ballistic missile can remain hidden or camouflaged in underground silos from
enemy’s surveillance or satellites till these are fired from the special
storage-cum-launch canisters. The composite canister has made the missile much
easier to store for longer periods without maintenance as well as to handle and
transport.
Ballistic
missiles play an important role in the political and security dynamics of Southern Asia. It strongly affects the threat perceptions
and resultant strategies of India,
Pakistan and China.
Beginning with little aerospace or defence infrastructure, the Pakistani
ballistic missile programme has made surprisingly rapid progress. A number of
missiles have been tested in all their series of missiles-- Ghauri, Ghaznavi,
Abdali and Shaheen in the past one decade. Of all these, Ghaznavi missile would
somewhat be similar to India’s
Shaurya’s missile not in terms of range but its strategic threat. Ghaznavi
missile is a modified version of the Chinese M 11 missile and in view of its
will still be the most operational of the Pakistani missiles.
China’s ballistic missile programme is
most advanced in the whole of Asia. Chinese
leaders have articulated that a limited but long-range missile capability is a
key component of national strength and prestige. Its nuclear weapons’ delivery
systems are mainly land-based missiles and few submarine launched systems of
intermediate range. Potential targets for Chinese ballistic missiles include
local conflicts along the country’s periphery – Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Russia,
Central Asia, and the greater Pacific region (Japan, U.S. military bases in
Asia and the western pacific).
China possesses a small ICBM force
directed at the US
(although the two agreed not to target each other in 1998). It has deployed the
DF-3, the DF-4, the DF-4A and the DF-21 to target India. In fact, Beijing’s strategic modernization programme
brought its solid propellant systems under great focus. The DF-21 missiles have
been stored inside closed canisters and towed by mobile launchers. The DF-3
missile is also being replaced by the DF-21 and is deployed at the Chuxiong
base in Yunnan
province. Importantly, Chinese ballistic missiles have the capability to target
any part of India.
On
its part, India
has been gearing itself in terms of responding to any emerging threats from
neighbouring countries. Achieving delivery systems for complementing its
nuclear deterrent, India’s
move towards acquiring ballistic missiles of all ranges has so far been
satisfactory. The testing of Agni-V has added to this momentum of strengthening
its defence preparedness and signaling to the adversaries about its capability
and intent. The ballistic missile will fulfill the land leg of India’s triad. The
boosting of technology demonstrator programme and ongoing research and
development in a robust way would help India becoming a hub of all
probable sensitive defence technologies. After all, India has become self-reliant in
all sectors where technological sanctions had been imposed. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News and Feature Alliance)
New Delhi
17
September 2013
|
Archives 
