It has been reported that the Defense Acquisitions Council (DAC), chaired by Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has approved the “acceptance of necessity” (AoN) for the acquisition of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) worth around US$1 billion from the United States. However, in 2002 the US had vetoed India’s bid to acquire the Israeli Arrow-2 missile interceptor system.
Consequently, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization began developing the Prithvi Air Defense (PAD), which will provide long-range high-altitude interception during an incoming ballistic missile’s mid-course phase as well as interception during the terminal phase. At various times these systems had different monikers, such as ballistic missile defense (BMD) or anti-ballistic missile system (ABM).
The people who decide on such things reside in New Delhi and understandably their safety gets priority. So it is the National Capital Region that will get the expensive and exaggerated sense of protection such systems tend to generate.
But no air defense system can be deemed impenetrable. The Americans and Russians realized long before the Cold War ended that the costs involved were prohibitive, even for them. But the idea was seductive.
Even as the Cold War was waning, US president Ronald Reagan toyed with the idea of a Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), which envisaged an ABM system stationed deep in space that would activate on picking up a launch. It seemed so far-fetched and futuristic that commentators took to calling it “Star Wars.”
This thought has been high on the minds of India’s security establishment ever since it learned that on May 26, 1990, China tested a Pakistani derivative of its CHIC-4 design at the Lop Nur test site in eastern China, with a yield in the 10-to-12-kiloton range. That yield estimate accords with recorded yields of Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests, which were somewhere between 5kt and 12kt.
Refinements in boosting and efficient plutonium use are the normal next steps in weapon improvement, along with miniaturization of the warheads to fit into smaller and lighter re-entry vehicles. Pakistan has done all of these to arm its cruise and ballistic missiles with lighter payloads. Once India deploys the PAD system around its capital, we can be assured that Pakistan too will deploy an ABM around Islamabad. We can also rest assured that China will assist it in developing such a capability.
The International Panel on Fissile Materials has estimated that Pakistan has an inventory of approximately 3,100 kilograms of highly enriched uranium and roughly 170kg of weapon-grade plutonium. This is potentially enough to produce 200 to 300 warheads.
Pakistan has also frequently tested the ranges of about a dozen Chinese-derived missiles, from the Hatf (50-kilometer range) to the Shaheen-III (2,750km). There is little doubt that Pakistan has planned for all eventualities, from local battlefield use and to feed its desire to have a credible “Islamic” bomb capability, and for that its reach must include Tel Aviv.
Long after the end of the Cold War, nuclear deterrence is still based on mutually assured destruction (MAD). This simply means that any sneak decapitating or debilitating first strike will be responded to with a massive retaliation, the fear of which should instill good sense. The fact that almost three-quarters of a century after the nuclear genie was uncorked from the bottle we have not had a nuclear war or weapon use is living proof of its robust common sense. So much so that when developments in ABM or BMD capability reached fruition, the two Cold War protagonists, the US and now-defunct USSR, had a treaty restricting these systems. Ironically this was well before they even had a treaty on reducing the number of nuclear bombs.
The MAD doctrine was made painfully credible by the development of nuclear-arsenal survivability through widespread deployment (at the peak of the Cold War, the US and USSR each had more than 30,000 nuclear bombs). This credibility got its biggest boost when submarines, initially diesel and then nuclear powered, capable of firing nuclear armed missiles (SSBNs) from the impenetrable dark recesses of the oceans were introduced.
The first of these was the Soviet Zulu-class submarine capable of firing from underwater an early Scud missile (1955). The Americans were the first to deploy a long-endurance, deep-diving and very silent nuclear-powered submarine – USS George Washington – in 1959. Since then MAD was ensured by the highly accurate missiles in the bellies of such submarines operated by the US, Russian, British, French, Chinese and Indian navies. Pakistan too is now reportedly testing nuclear-capable missiles fired from underwater on modified diesel submarines.
We need to learn from how nuclear-weapons strategies evolved during the Cold War, instead of mimicking US and Soviet follies. The notion of deterrence between the US and USSR was based on no escape from MAD.
Cold War follies peaked with the two antagonists together deploying almost 70,000 warheads each aimed at a specific target. At the height of this madness almost every open ground was targeted as possible tank-marshaling or military-logistics areas.
Hence the last thing India wants is to get into a numbers game with Pakistan or China. Credibility depends on reducing the uncertainty of use from the opposite perspective. The Indian PAD missile defense system only increases them.
India and Pakistan have ensured a modicum of confidence by not mating the warheads and delivery systems, giving a vital period to roll back the unleashing of Armageddon. But now both countries will have to evolve a launch-on-warning doctrine.
Clearly, the two South Asian nuclear powers have a local version of MAD in place. The Pakistani doctrine “commits itself” to use battlefield nuclear weapons if an Indian conventional assault threatens its essential nationhood, and hence it has steadfastly refused to accept the notion of “no first use” (NFU). The Indian doctrine emphasizes NFU but also makes it explicit that any Pakistani use of nuclear weapons on India or its forces will be responded to with a massive retaliation.
India may have fewer nuclear weapons, not because it cannot make more, but because what it has is enough to ensure the complete annihilation of Pakistan, which is geographically a much smaller country.
For its part, China has moved on from NFU to a doctrine now called “credible minimum deterrence.” But how much is credible?
Mercifully, nuclear doctrines these days are couched in such abstractions since MAD requires a degree of predictability, ironically ensured by opacity. The United States’ “single integrated operational plan” (SIOP) began with the ominous words that its objective, after the outbreak of a general war with the then Soviet Union, was to turn it into a “smoking, radiating ruin.” This was written by its certifiable US Air Force chief, General Curtis Lemay Jr, based on whom the character played by George C Scott in the Stanley Kubrick classic Dr Strangelove was created.
But it was people like Lemay who gave MAD credibility. Since no one of a sane frame of mind would even contemplate the enormity of the disaster of a nuclear war, uncertainty of use was a key element of MAD. It has been written that Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev used to have sleepless nights thinking of a man like Richard Nixon with his finger on the button.
India’s nuclear strategy documents in detail who the nuclear command would devolve to in the unlikely event of a decapitating first strike on New Delhi with the aim of eliminating its national leadership. It is said that the chain of nuclear command keeps descending to a major-general, a modern-day Raja Parikshit so to say, who will perform the final obsequies.
At last count India had more than 600 military officers at that level. Decapitating all of them is a near statistical and physical impossibility. It would take tens of thousands to precision nuclear weapons to annihilate India’s military chain of command, and it can be speculated whether even America or Russia could achieve that, let alone Pakistan.
Ironically, the evocative acronym MAD is an eminently sensible doctrine. Good sense should tell us: Enough of this madness, and leave MAD alone.
If you think Pakistani islamic bombs will reach tel Aviv then for sure your Hindu bombs will are also designed to reach riyadh, mekkah and Moscow !
We have no problems with Riyadh, mekkah or Moscow. But yes we can reach Beijing and any corner where you will be hiding. We have no stupid names like Hindu bomb or the jokers that you use the ghazni g hori and othet jackasses who you claim as Islamic heroes.we are a mature nature not a tinpot military/ jihadi dictatorship lije you.
please do so. attack riyadh and mekkah. and moscow as well. show the world your true colours.
Russian Planes were defeated by two (2) F-14 Tomcats against fifteen (15) Topolevs and Four (4) Mig-21’s during the Libyan War. In German War, Northern Germany led by Russian forces surrender against the West Germany Led by U.S.A. Hi-Tech Forces. U.S. soldiers learned from the past wars they fought against their nemesis, especially during the vietnam war. Americans thought their only enemy is vietnam but they’re wrong. Russians and Chinese forces backed these vietnamese forces to ensure the big loss of lives & equipments and subsequently, to defeat the American invincibilty in every armed conflict proving that such is useless. But Americans stick to these state of the art firepower capability. Because they believe that if you have these kind of weapons, there are less casualties in the ranks of soldiers, less human/civilian lives were killed, accurate and precise target shooting or bombing with less collateral damage, quick delivery of supplies and equipments, soldiers can conduct defensive and counter offensive against enemy threats with lightning speeds and destructive power whether with the use of invulnerable Naval Aircraft Carriers and Battle Ship Destroyers, Armies with Extremely Advance & indestructible Tanks and Airforce Fighter Planes armed with Extremely Super Hi-Tech computers capable of one million decisions per second sync to it’s weaponry’s. In the modern day of warfare, these weapons prove to be effective, one example is the russian mig shot down by U.S. F-15 in syrian conflict, Stealth managed to drop bombs and destroy targets with lightning speed and accuracy. In the cold war, russia, china, north korea and iran are threatening the world to use their nuclear capable weapons if U.S. would try toe to toe between them in an armed battle. But their Nuclear weapons are NoCLear (NO CLEAR) because the U.S. have already proved their NUCLEAR WEAPON is LETHAL & EXTREMELY DANGEROUS 73 years ago that resulted to the Surrender of Japanese War Empire. That is the testament of U.S. Technology.
Shehryar Ashraf goto Agra to get treated free of charge
Why would India attack Moscow? India is not Pakistan to attack its allies
Shehryar Ashraf Says a person from a country world renowned for being a terrorist breeding ground (Taliban, HM, LeT, AQ and now even ISIL), a teror sponsor (FATF grey-listing for second time) and a beggar state with a giant begging bowl (seeking IMF bailout for a third time). A country where UN designated terrorists not only roam freely but contest elections as well… all in all a scourge on this earth. These are the true colors of Pakistan!
Well put. There is no escape from MAD, a lose-lose for all.
Although far behind in conventional arms, Paks are way ahead in nuclear and missiles tech. But both Pak and India are spending far too much on defense, leaving themselves poor and destitute.
Short-sighted Hindus rejected Jinnah’s Republic model with proportional-representation, and pushed for a winner-take-all Democracy. After Divide and Rule, the English were all too happy to Divide and Leave thus continue to Rule, and punished Hindus for asking for freedom by creating Pakistan, and punished Muslims with unfinished Kashmir as a finger in their behind forever.
Continuous warfare will keep them both poor forever to the delight of the English who would love to arm them both and laugh all the way to the bank.
Subcontinent requires new leadership that aims at solving poverty. Paks have again taken the lead with Imran Khan. Until Indians do the same and elect a youth oriented leader, she will continue to waste its wealth on futile defense systems that defend no one.
Superman, Batmen, Spiderman, 007 … all were caught napping on 9/11.
A man sitting in faraway mountain with $120k budget (of which only 60k spent) trouced Trillion $ Pentagon, CIA, FBI, NSA, puncturing the 200 year old Monroe Doctrine, and inflicting Tens of Trillion $ damage to Western economy that continues. Not to speak of blowing up the Western sense of security for ever.
It is not the gun, but the man behind the gun, and the Western school system is producing youth that can neither read nor count, unfit for future electronic warfare. Hackers with a handful of worthless Rubles were able to do a regime change in Washington DC.
Rohit Pandeya, "Pirthivi air defence system" is this after the name of a dog, you cow cub!
Rohit Pandeya , you are so stupid as you are so boastful of a garbage called India, whose government can’t provide you the shithole toilets to dump your shit, but you will never mind because you and the people like you are made up of the same stuff called shit. A worm taking birth out of the shit will never demand a toilet to dump his shit. And don’t be too much boastful of Hindutva jingoism, lest you may burst, we know you since centuries,. And your coward DHOTI Pirthivi and Agni were all jackals, offered their sisters and mothers to Ghauris and Ghaznavis to spare their lives. Offered their sisters and daughters to the Muslim rulers, go, cow cub read the true history not the one ordered to be altered by pandith Moodi, but the real one.
Shehryar Ashraf , they don’t even have the heart to kill a hen, they are the most coward and the filthiest people on Earth.
Alex Sanchez , keep crying and we Will make sure that you are kept crying all the time. because the world knows that India is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Hamsaia Daish, he has just taken Israel on board to take a shelter behind her. Better if he had mentioned each inch of Kerala, Tamil Nado and Naga land Himachal perdesh, which are with in the range of Pakistanis missiles.
How is 65 year old Imran Khan youth oriented and 67 year old Narendra Modi not ? Besides Modi was 64 when he assumed the office of India’s PM.
Why is that every Pakistani puts across half-baked story ?
Then again how is Pakistan ahead in nuclear technology ?
Pakistan’s Plutonium stockpile/reserves is 1/10th of India and its weapons are mostly enriched uranium based and it never tested a thermo-nuclear warhead. Seekers and navigation systems on Pakistani missiles are not its own. CEP of Pakistani missiles is greater than Indian. It does not have a submarine launced ballistic missile. It does not have MIRV or MeRV developed yet It does not have Ramjet technology. It does not have ERW (enhanced radiation weapon) or EMW (electro-magnetic thermo-nuclear warheads). You Pakistanis are living in false sense of Nuclear Superiority.
India spends less than 2.1% of its GDP on defence and Pakistan spends 3.6% of its GDP on defence. So lets not talk who is overspending on defence and ignoring other needs of citizens.
Okay you did get the part related to Jinnah true to some extent and yes Jinnah-Gandhi-Nehru dynamics led to partition of India and it has since been a barbeque for Western powers. Congress party made a mess of the country – India from 1930s-1990s. AIML and Congress should have had better coordination pre-Independence.
But creating an Islamic country – Pakistan and kicking over 20 million Hindus out barbarically was not a good move either. I feel sad when a Muslim in my country – India feels insecure cause India belongs to all who take pride in calling themselves Indians.
Kashmir issue has no end to discussion and each side has some valid points but most importantly Kashmir is now an inseperable part of India like a big family. Unlike Paksitan we do not sell our family members or barter or leave them astray.
We all know attrocities done in Bangladesh that led to its independence. We all know backstabbing of Uyghur cause in China by Pakistan to retain Chinese support on Kashmir. We also know of Pakistan’s messy interference in Afghanistan. Its treatment of its own across NWFP. Other than the state of Punjab almost every state in Pakistan would prefer to be an independent country.
So if Pakistan continues to finger India we will treat its tonsilitis by thrusting our hands from its bottom-behind all the way up. But if it wants peace and brotherhood we will welcome that too with caution.
This is a stupid article. Pakistan’s prominence in India’s calculus is minimal. The focus really is China.
One thing testing the nucke and between preparing and keep safe,active and secure nuke two different thing.Is it really we ( India and Pak and China) achieve this? I feel it’s only Frace,USA and Russia capable in the real nuke thing.
Sleep well and don’t think that much. We will not hurt you, your Delhi and your 600 chain of command.
Aashish Sardana brother search the critical limit for urinium enrichment and you will know.
Pakistan have the "MIRV technology" and that’s the end of any missile defence system in the world even the S-500 system used by USSR.The money used on the defence system is absolutely useless in any case and
Pakisan is way ahead of India in Nuclear technology and its quiet apparent by the fact that "US congress passed the resolution" stating that Pakistan old shaheen-3 missile is in-reality IBCM and quiet capable of MIRV,while India tested their first IBCM agni in 2017 and Pakistan tested Shaheen in early 2006.
Pakistan missile tech is superior to that of india everytime they test something and only handful of countries are capable of MIRV cuz its very very difficult to built one.
One you just tested mirv tech barely a year ago, so it works or not nobody knows and two you don’t have a single working icbm, and even if you did we are right next to you? Anyhow we are recognised as an icbm holder. And Shaheen 3 was tested in 2015 bro what are you even on about? Way ahead in nuclear tech how exactly? The only thing you have is a higher amount of nuclear enriched material, all that says is you will have more missiles probably, nothing about actual nuclear superiority. Look up second strike capability. If you were talking for China it would make sense, they are superior su indian tech in almost all forms. But just as we are behind china, Pakistan is behind India in military tech, there really isn’t any discussion on it. Literally every certifiable millitary analyst can tell you this fact.
It took 200 years in a state where the world is changing so rapidly, you gave your own answer. Trump might have been aided but calling it a single factor in his winning is just rudamentary, too basic to be even considered a fact. It’s like making pizza with just some flour.
Ankur Gupta 1)Pakistan have 2nd strike capability too due to underground Nuclear bunkers and silos,some are even present under the Indus river
2)Pakistan tested the MIRV tech and US senate confirmed it,so I don’t know WHY you can’t understand the meaning of TEST?
If we are to follow this rule then Agni is only tested and both countries conducted Nuclear test one time too.
3)Pakistan have sucessfully built the Shaheen-3 in 2008 and test it on minute scale but they don’t released the results cuz it ends up putting sancations on any country outside of UN ideology(including India too)
4)Pakistan produce it own Tanks,Planes,submarines and built its own weapons including guns that are very popular in Middle-East(they can buy US arms too) and weapon sale accounts for 40% of Pakistan GDP so farr.
India on the other hand buy everything from other countries and remember the MAKER is always superior to buyer.I don’t know what weapon technology you are talking about cuz apparently India is absolute shit in this field.
Its always good to talk to someone that won’t have typical Indian/Pakistani bias and show some respect but
a)MBT-2000 and Al-Khalid-2 tank is far superior to Arjun tank in every respect and chinese used that too as upgraded VT-4 tank but Paki used the Eu reliable engines and that’s why counries actually buyed it from Pakistan(Bangladesh)
b)Pakistan use the battle-rifles H and K G3 that is 7.68 NATO far superior to any assulat rilfe including the Scar but India use shit rifle(you can have ak’s from Russia) and Pakistan is about to adopt FN-Scar too as assult rifle.
c)Pakistan built its own Jf-17 thunder fighters and 5th gen is stealth fighters and India only buys planes from other countries
d)India don’t even manufacture its own guns and Pakistan supplys NATO in Afghanistan and majority of it is manufactured in Pakistan by POF and Pakistan missile tech is leages above India
Dude what weapon tech are you even talking about,India have over Pak?
We built our own stuff while you buy foreign shit from Russia and I wouild say respect your neighbour at-least someone in subcontinent(2 billion+) can built it and once Kashmir conflict is resolved.
I am 99.9% sure India will even prefer their neighbour over outsiders for weapons and Arabs buy our weapon and they have money to buy the whole US right now but they prefer PAK.
Nagraj, Shaktiman, Krissh, Lord Hannuman, Sooraya Qadir, Qaheera, Indiran Robot, Kahina Khandari, Zatanna, Zatarra were both caught by sleepy mode when tomahawk from thousand miles away flew in from U.S. Destroyers and Battleships that pounded hard on their Cities. They were in deep Sleep when MOABS were dropped that wiped out their bunkers. When they woke up, it is already too late but they tried hard to stop the state of the art technologies of allied forces that is advancing. As a consequences, they were killed by raining bullets from more than five thousand Planes flying above their airspace. 6th generation Air to Air missiles ram in air and Air to ground missile rain in from above the sky and destroyed their defensive shields and shelves, military installations, military vehicles, tanks and forces.
Even if they learn from isis orbs we can solve those problems. Not this rubik’s played by desperate traitors from thousand miles away claiming they have change the leadership of another country. If it really does happen, Then why is it that their economy is not higher and that they were not able to control NWO? The reality in this rubik puzzle is that their leader is the only one who is getting stronger, bigger, richer and powerful, no more no less. Their rubik’s puzzle are easy to solve. Watch out, look behind you, be aware and observe what is really happening. Everything is taken care of. Just watch out of the Avengers. LOL
India should try to economically ruin Pakistan by luring it for nuclear armed race as USA had done against USSR.
Numan Fazal Saadi Seriously ? While Pakistan is stuck with Gas Centrifuge process India has gone miles ahead with development of Laser and Plasma Techniques for enrichment. India can in a year weaponize its entire Plutonoum stockpile to add 300-500 more nuclear weapons. So what are your talking about the critical limit for uranium enrichment ? Then again India took steps to further jump miles ahead of Pakistan and here is a link from another Pakistani media outlet https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/177830-The-thermonuclear-secrets-of-Challakere And this facility is active now.
Muhammad Fayyaz you are delusional and sick in the mind.you need medical attention.maybe you are scared and that fear makes you abuse like a mad man. Don’t worry we never start any war. India has a no first use policy but we have always ended all the wars that you started and will continue to do so in the future. Meanwhile continue painting Chinese missiles with fancy names and vent your spleen here talking rubbish.the world has put you in grey list because they have seen and acknowledged your reality.this is why the American baksheesh is also no.longer available and the begging bowl needs to be enlarged to include more patrons. You are funny and delusional. Go get a life or build some dams to store water…..instead of wasting your time here .
Muhammad Fayyaz stop rattling your nuclear sabre every Friday. You are so brave then come out like a man and settle the matter once and for all. Otherwise keep your history lessons for madarssa classes to.prepare cannon fodder in terror camps. This is a civilized forum dont make it a tanzeem lecture hall.
Muhammad Fayyaz idiot prithvi means earth..agni means fire and akash means the sky.They are not named of mentally ill jokers.
Muhammad Fayyaz we never trade in land and women.that is a Pakistani tradition as in CPEC and halala . Do not impose your characteristics on us.
If I sum up with the critical note on this writing then I would conclude that this whole writing is a loose and cheap effort to lobby for the acquisition of new weapons system from West west and especially United States creating a huvac from China and Pakistan.
he also touched very tactically his words in writings with Israel and terminology coined like Islamic bomb to get more sympathy and supporters on this effort.
let me clear this loudly Pakiatan is not party in middle East and it proved very responsibly throughout the last 30 years after having nuclear capabilities, so nuclear acquisition from Pakistan was in force to India’s fierce ambitions not a as will, so Pakistan declares it as deterrence not as aggression.
secondly the situation is even more worsen as the government in New Delhi is from right wing extremist organization RSS and HVP track record of whom is very red with blood of children women and common men from minorities especially Muslims. and the basic ideology on which this government party is constituted is to eliminate all other religion to make subcontinent a Hindu land free of other believers.
at that point Pakistan as ideologically and China as strategically come in front as rivals to this mindset, so if there is something that will prohibit retaliation in case of aggression will lead a big spoil from extremist hands in region.
Rohit Pandeya do you think any civilized mind will value your stupidity ?? dear these eggs are rotten don’t sell there anymore.
You dare not hurt us because you know what will happen next
So just keep rattling your nuclear sabre for domestic consumption and to please the gallery.we are neither concerned not scared.our sights are on China and sidekicks like you dont matter.
Bhutto said that Pakistanis will eat grass if required to make a nuclear weapon. Now they are on verge of eating grass and will break up if they try to match India!
Guruswamy has more advice to India and minimum to China- Pakistan axis, like other liberals. So I can understand the arrogance of successive Pakistani Generals of past 70 years. They know the success of 1946 direct action programme which unnerved Nehru and even Gandhi’s Sardar.
Guruswamy has more advice to India and minimum to China- Pakistan axis, like other liberals. So I can understand the arrogance of successive Pakistani Generals of past 70 years. They know the success of 1946 direct action programme which unnerved Nehru and even Gandhi’s Sardar.