After the successful test of Pakistan’s short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Nasr last week, its Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had made a strange remark. He said, “Nasr has put cold water on cold start”.
Nasr is a tactical nuclear weapon aimed to inflict damage on incoming forces at a short notice. It is not like those long range nuclear warhead carrying ballistic missiles which are fired thousands of kilometres away with pre-designated target and carry massive warheads. Tactical nuclear weapons are for battlefield situation mainly aimed at thwarting incoming forces which are already at the borders and pushing to enter the enemy territory.
Since 2013, Pakistani defence analysts and its military have been propagating to its media and its people that Nasr and its TNWs have defeated India’s cold start doctrine, while India has been restructuring its Strike Corps to fight under heighten threat level while piecing together required firepower to effectively deploy Cold Start doctrine. By giving Nasr a 10km increase range and some tweaked flight manoeuvrability, Pakistan it self-has exposed its panicky state of mind to India in response to testing of its QR-SAMs recently.
Capabilities of Nasr
Nasr is a canard-control led missile system capable of firing TNWs up to 70km with a very good CEP (not specified). It is about 6m long with a 300 mm caliber.The carrier is an 8×8 wheeled vehicle with cross country mobility. Fit for shoot and scoot. Four missiles per launcher can be carried and fired. The missiles are stored and carried in factory-sealed ready to fire containers.It could have a miniaturized nuclear warhead of the sub KT category. That is my surmise since the space geometry must cater for the warhead, control and guidance system, on board power, on board computer, a claimed capability to overcome missile defense systems, andthe solid rocket motor.Of course, the weapon will have normal warheads also. The number of nuclear warheads with Pakistan will be limited. However,it seems,as per Pakistani estimates they must be having enough to cause damage to stymie Indian Cold Starts.
Capabilities of QRSAM
The QRSAM is a quick reaction, all-weather and network-centric search-on-the-move missile system. It can engage multiple targets at a range of about 30 km with two vehicle configuration for area air defence.
The missile is a truck-mounted one with 360 degree rotatable, electronic-mechanically operated, turret-based launch unit.
QRSAM is a highly mobile air defence system which comes with 100 percent kill probability, and has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air to surface missiles as well as short-range ballistic missiles. QRSAM is also a vital component in India’s “Cold Start” Doctrine which will ensure the safety of forward Army formations in Enemy territories.The Mach 1.8
Why QR-SAM is Game Changer for India’s Cold Start doctrine
India’s Strike Corps has been carrying out Military exercise simulating fighting war under a Nuclear environment to provide additional counter battlefield weapon to Nasr, India has quickly developed QR-SAMs which can provide sufficient battle field air defence which will be mobile and will move with the Strike Corps to give level of layered aerial defence against SRBM like Nasr .
Pakistan also fears that India might also put together Cruise Missile Defence System (CMDS) which along with QR-SAM will provide India’s Strike Corps a layered battlefield Aerial Defence systems against cruise missiles like Babur, Raad and Nasr SRBMs. An addition of CMDS and QR-SAMs will certainly complicate Pakistan equation of using Tactical nuclear weapons within its own territory, the risk of a high casualty of its own civilians and India launching full-scale Nuclear retaliation will play high if India is able to effectively counter Nasr.
QR-SAM and Pralay both will be Truck based Canister Missile systems which will allow India’s Strike Corps to use them as Shield and Sword on the battlefield. India slowly but steady will deploy Series of Weapons which will be part of India’s Cold Start Doctrine to ensure that doctrine will remain doable for Indian Army if a need arises to punish Pakistan in a case of another 26/11 type of attack leading to large scale casualty.
QRSAM Air Defence System is a critical component in India’s “Cold Start” Doctrine which has the ability not only to stop Aerial attacks from rival Air Force but also to neutralise Pakistan’s Solid fueled nuclear-capable tactical ballistic missile system Nasr (Hatf IX) which was specifically developed to attack “mechanized forces like armed brigades and divisions.
Keeping Cold Start Doctrine alive is in India’s interest to keep Pakistan in check and prevent large scale state sponsored terrorism against India backed by Pakistan. Moment Pakistani Military sense that Cold Start Doctrine has been countered and defeated, fear of retaliation will also be gone and back will be misadventures of Pakistani generals who dream to go down in History books as who destroyed India and liberated Kashmir.
https://defenceupdate.in/how-indias-qr-sam-has-poured-cold-water-on-pakistans-nasr-propaganda/
