Late Ballistics: India tests Agni 5
0Monday, May 28, 2012 by Sanket Chaukiyal
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| Image Courtesy: Wikipedia |
India recently tested the Agni V "range of 5000 kms" and joined the elite club of ICBM nations. This is a great accomplishment not just because of the technological achievement but also due to the fact that it was achieved under a technology transfer embargo due to nuclear weapons testing in the past. The embargo however benefited the country in the form of self-reliance in the defence industry. This is a moment of great pride for any patriot but to truly understand the significance of any achievement, all the facts whether good or bad must be examined.
If it were not for the embargoes, India would have
achieved the status of an ICBM nation much earlier which would have saved it
from a lot of territorial aggression from China. However, it is not too late as
the ICBM certainly gives India a better foothold against China which is the
dominant regional superpower. The ICBM will enable India to strike important
targets deep within China.
Where there is a sword
there is always a shield; Missile shields together with satellite tracking
system make a potent defence against ICBMs thereby nullifying their advantage
up to an extent "an advantage if a missile shield is located at a
potential target, which is highly probable". Therefore the only option is to make our own defence strong, to pick up
a shield of our own.
India needs to invest heavily in a missile defence
shield of its own considering that it lies in a very volatile region of Asia
"surrounded by Pakistan, China and Bangladesh".
India needs to boost its information network by
investing in developing indigenous spy satellites as critical information can
mean the difference between victory and defeat. Already India has
started taking a step in the right direction by investing in Multiple
Independent Re-entry Vehicles (MIRV) which could be the solution to the
"missile defence shield" issue. To put it simply, MIRVs are basically many missiles
inside one which can effectively enable the targeting of multiple targets while
also minimising the effect of a missile shield which will be unable
to target all the missiles.
What one can look forward to is the development of the
Agni VI which will have a range of 10,000 Kms.
(PS: My conscience wants me to put one line in on its
behalf "Do we need more weapons or more food?")
Category Agni, ICBM, India, Missile, Super Power
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