IndianTiger
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2010
- Messages
- 608
- Reaction score
- 0
New Delhi: Agni-V, the 5000-
km range surface-to-surface
Inter-Continental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM) capable of
carrying multiple nuclear
warheads, has catapulted India into an extremely select
club of countries possessing
such a deadly weapons
platform. Agni-V gives India
the much-needed muscle and a
strong deterrence against its nuclear-armed adversaries as
the missile can not only target
every city of China, but is also
capable of reaching Australia,
Eastern Europe, North Eastern
and Eastern Africa. Coupled with the induction of
the first operational nuclear
attack submarine the Akula II
class Nerpa rechristened INS
Chakra into the Indian Navy
on April 4, Agni-V gives India the power to deliver the
knock out punch to the
enemy in the event of
hostilities breaking out. Only
five other countries - China,
Russia, France, the United States and the United
Kingdom - have such long
distance missiles. Agni-V and INS Chakra are the
biggest and the most deadly
symbol of Indias military
might and while Army Chief
General VK Singh's letter to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the war
preparedness, lack and
obsolescence of vital weapons
systems and ammunition
made a lot of news in the last
few weeks, what went unnoticed is that the defence
forces have been slowly
adding muscle to counter the
threat of a two-front war. In
the past few months the
government and the defence forces have taken several
steps to plug in the gaps in
Indias defence, particularly in
relation with China. Along with the earlier missiles
of the Agni series - Agni-I
(range: 700 km), Agni-II
(2,000 km), Agni-III and IV
(3,000 plus km) range - the
ICBM gives India a wide array of potent weapons platform
to take on the enemy. The 17
m long, 2 m wide and 50
tonne Agni-V is a generation
ahead of the other surface-to-
surface missiles in India's inventory and what makes
the missile extremely
effective and deadly is that it
can carry Multiple
Independently Targetable Re-
entry Vehicles (MITRV) capable of delivering multiple
warheads at different targets
at long distances. Such missiles when fired in
large numbers can penetrate a
ballistic missile shield and
devastate the intended target
or targets. After the missile is
inducted into the strategic forces by 2014-2015, India will
acquire a strong deterrent
capacity against China as the
entire country would come
under its range. Although Agni-V will need to
undergo several more trials
before it can be formally
inducted into India's arsenal,
the test-firing has sent out a
strong statement to the world, particularly to the
countrys adversaries. The induction of INS Chakra,
the impending sea trials of the
indigenous nuclear submarine
INS Arihant that will be
armed with torpedoes and the
700-km range nuclear K-15 submarine-launched ballistic
missiles, the shortlisting of the
Rafale for Indian Air Forces
(IAF) 126 Medium Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MMRCA),
induction of two squadrons of the front-line Sukhoi-30 MKI
fighter jets in the North East
at the Tezpur and the Chabua
air bases are just some of the
moves the government and
defence forces have taken to counter the Chinese threat. India will have an assured
second strike capability once
Agni-V and INS Arihant
become operational as the
country has already a declared
policy of no first use of nuclear weapons. INS Arihant
will complete the crucial third
leg of nuclear triad as a
nuclear-powered submarine
can stay underwater for a
very long duration, remain undetected and file a
submarine launched nuclear
missile. The Indian Navy is gearing up
to operate five nuclear
submarines by the end of this
decade, including two leased
from Russia and three Arihant
Class underwater warships built indigenously. With six Scorpene submarines
being constructed at Mazagon
Dockyards in Mumbai in
collaboration with French
DCNS and six more planned to
be built under the Project-75 India, the Navy is also getting
ready for the induction of the
44,500-tonne INS
Vikramaditya or the refitted
Admiral Gorshkov from
Russia in early-2013. INS Vikramaditya will have
MiG-29Ks, the first-ever naval
supersonic fighters, on board
giving the carrier battle group
a lethal edge. The Navy will
operate 45 MiG-29K fighters out of which 16 will be based
on INS Vikramaditya. India is also getting ready to
induct the 40,000-tonne
indigenous aircraft carrier
(IAC), being constructed at
Cochin Shipyard. The carrier is
slated to be battle-ready by 2015 and will give a big boost
to the Navy's plans of
operating three carrier battle
groups with one on in the
Arabian Sea and the other in
the Bay of Bengal and the third in reserve. Both the INS
Vikramaditya and the IAC
will also carry India's
indigenously designed naval
version of the Tejas Light
Combat Aircraft. According to Navy Chief
Admiral Nirmal Verma the
second indigenous aircraft
carrier called IAC-II will be a
much bigger warship than the
IAC, displacing 50,000 tons. If the Cochin Shipyard adheres
to the schedule then the Navy
will operate three operational
carrier battle groups by 2020. The fifth-generation Sukhoi
T-50/ PAK FA, which is being
developed in collaboration
with Russia, will also give
India a potent fighter in the
sky. The fighter jet is undergoing tests and is
expected to enter into service
with the IAF by 2017. The IAF
is planning to induct 250
Sukhoi T-50/ PAK FA. Even the Army, in the news
for having an arsenal of
obsolete weapons, is moving
fast to match up to the
Chinese threat on the Eastern
front. China has been modernising and building the
infrastructure and is now
capable of outnumbering the
Indian forces by almost 3:1 by
moving almost 30 divisions
with over 15,000 soldiers each to the disputed 4,057km long
Line of Actual Control. The Army is already raising a
new mountain strike corps
comprising of almost 70,000
soldiers along with two
mountain infantry divisions
with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers to be based in the
North East. Equipped with
M-777 ultra-light howitzers,
145 of which are being
procured from the US, the
mountain strike corps will give the Army the boots on
the grounds. With the new regiment of
BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile (the Block-III version
that can scale mountainous
terrain and then dive steeply)
already deployed in the North East, the Army has plugged a
major hole in India's defence. Taken together these
measures reveal that India is
indeed taking the threat from
both the Eastern and the
Western fronts seriously and
taking measures to counter it. All the three wings of the
military " the Army, Navy
and IAF " are not only adding
the latest weapons platforms
in their arsenal, but also
upgrading their existing arsenal to thwart any
misadventure by the nuclear
armed adversaries.
km range surface-to-surface
Inter-Continental Ballistic
Missile (ICBM) capable of
carrying multiple nuclear
warheads, has catapulted India into an extremely select
club of countries possessing
such a deadly weapons
platform. Agni-V gives India
the much-needed muscle and a
strong deterrence against its nuclear-armed adversaries as
the missile can not only target
every city of China, but is also
capable of reaching Australia,
Eastern Europe, North Eastern
and Eastern Africa. Coupled with the induction of
the first operational nuclear
attack submarine the Akula II
class Nerpa rechristened INS
Chakra into the Indian Navy
on April 4, Agni-V gives India the power to deliver the
knock out punch to the
enemy in the event of
hostilities breaking out. Only
five other countries - China,
Russia, France, the United States and the United
Kingdom - have such long
distance missiles. Agni-V and INS Chakra are the
biggest and the most deadly
symbol of Indias military
might and while Army Chief
General VK Singh's letter to
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the war
preparedness, lack and
obsolescence of vital weapons
systems and ammunition
made a lot of news in the last
few weeks, what went unnoticed is that the defence
forces have been slowly
adding muscle to counter the
threat of a two-front war. In
the past few months the
government and the defence forces have taken several
steps to plug in the gaps in
Indias defence, particularly in
relation with China. Along with the earlier missiles
of the Agni series - Agni-I
(range: 700 km), Agni-II
(2,000 km), Agni-III and IV
(3,000 plus km) range - the
ICBM gives India a wide array of potent weapons platform
to take on the enemy. The 17
m long, 2 m wide and 50
tonne Agni-V is a generation
ahead of the other surface-to-
surface missiles in India's inventory and what makes
the missile extremely
effective and deadly is that it
can carry Multiple
Independently Targetable Re-
entry Vehicles (MITRV) capable of delivering multiple
warheads at different targets
at long distances. Such missiles when fired in
large numbers can penetrate a
ballistic missile shield and
devastate the intended target
or targets. After the missile is
inducted into the strategic forces by 2014-2015, India will
acquire a strong deterrent
capacity against China as the
entire country would come
under its range. Although Agni-V will need to
undergo several more trials
before it can be formally
inducted into India's arsenal,
the test-firing has sent out a
strong statement to the world, particularly to the
countrys adversaries. The induction of INS Chakra,
the impending sea trials of the
indigenous nuclear submarine
INS Arihant that will be
armed with torpedoes and the
700-km range nuclear K-15 submarine-launched ballistic
missiles, the shortlisting of the
Rafale for Indian Air Forces
(IAF) 126 Medium Multi-Role
Combat Aircraft (MMRCA),
induction of two squadrons of the front-line Sukhoi-30 MKI
fighter jets in the North East
at the Tezpur and the Chabua
air bases are just some of the
moves the government and
defence forces have taken to counter the Chinese threat. India will have an assured
second strike capability once
Agni-V and INS Arihant
become operational as the
country has already a declared
policy of no first use of nuclear weapons. INS Arihant
will complete the crucial third
leg of nuclear triad as a
nuclear-powered submarine
can stay underwater for a
very long duration, remain undetected and file a
submarine launched nuclear
missile. The Indian Navy is gearing up
to operate five nuclear
submarines by the end of this
decade, including two leased
from Russia and three Arihant
Class underwater warships built indigenously. With six Scorpene submarines
being constructed at Mazagon
Dockyards in Mumbai in
collaboration with French
DCNS and six more planned to
be built under the Project-75 India, the Navy is also getting
ready for the induction of the
44,500-tonne INS
Vikramaditya or the refitted
Admiral Gorshkov from
Russia in early-2013. INS Vikramaditya will have
MiG-29Ks, the first-ever naval
supersonic fighters, on board
giving the carrier battle group
a lethal edge. The Navy will
operate 45 MiG-29K fighters out of which 16 will be based
on INS Vikramaditya. India is also getting ready to
induct the 40,000-tonne
indigenous aircraft carrier
(IAC), being constructed at
Cochin Shipyard. The carrier is
slated to be battle-ready by 2015 and will give a big boost
to the Navy's plans of
operating three carrier battle
groups with one on in the
Arabian Sea and the other in
the Bay of Bengal and the third in reserve. Both the INS
Vikramaditya and the IAC
will also carry India's
indigenously designed naval
version of the Tejas Light
Combat Aircraft. According to Navy Chief
Admiral Nirmal Verma the
second indigenous aircraft
carrier called IAC-II will be a
much bigger warship than the
IAC, displacing 50,000 tons. If the Cochin Shipyard adheres
to the schedule then the Navy
will operate three operational
carrier battle groups by 2020. The fifth-generation Sukhoi
T-50/ PAK FA, which is being
developed in collaboration
with Russia, will also give
India a potent fighter in the
sky. The fighter jet is undergoing tests and is
expected to enter into service
with the IAF by 2017. The IAF
is planning to induct 250
Sukhoi T-50/ PAK FA. Even the Army, in the news
for having an arsenal of
obsolete weapons, is moving
fast to match up to the
Chinese threat on the Eastern
front. China has been modernising and building the
infrastructure and is now
capable of outnumbering the
Indian forces by almost 3:1 by
moving almost 30 divisions
with over 15,000 soldiers each to the disputed 4,057km long
Line of Actual Control. The Army is already raising a
new mountain strike corps
comprising of almost 70,000
soldiers along with two
mountain infantry divisions
with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers to be based in the
North East. Equipped with
M-777 ultra-light howitzers,
145 of which are being
procured from the US, the
mountain strike corps will give the Army the boots on
the grounds. With the new regiment of
BrahMos supersonic cruise
missile (the Block-III version
that can scale mountainous
terrain and then dive steeply)
already deployed in the North East, the Army has plugged a
major hole in India's defence. Taken together these
measures reveal that India is
indeed taking the threat from
both the Eastern and the
Western fronts seriously and
taking measures to counter it. All the three wings of the
military " the Army, Navy
and IAF " are not only adding
the latest weapons platforms
in their arsenal, but also
upgrading their existing arsenal to thwart any
misadventure by the nuclear
armed adversaries.
