India tests new long-range missile

By
Hussain
-
68
239

India on Thursday successfully test fired a new missile capable of delivering a one-tonne nuclear warhead anywhere in rival China, marking a major advance in its defence capabilities.
Watched by hundreds of scientists, the Agni V was launched from a test site off the eastern state of Orissa.
India views the rocket, which has a range of 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles), as a key boost to its regional power aspirations and one that narrows — albeit slightly — the huge gap with China’s technologically advanced missile systems.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony congratulated the nation’s defence scientists on the “successful” launch, with Antony calling the achievement “a major milestone in India’s missile programme”.
The test leaves India knocking at the door of a select club of nations with inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres.
Currently only the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — possess a declared ICBM capability.
“I am announcing the successful launch of Agni V… making history and making our country proud in the area of missile technology,” V.K. Saraswat, head of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which made the missile, said.
He said India was now a “missile power”.
DRDO spokesman Ravi Gupta insisted the Agni V was a “non country-specific” deterrent, but analysts noted it extends India’s missile reach over the entire Chinese mainland, including military installations in the far northeast.
Agni, which means “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of its ambitious integrated guided missile development project launched in 1983.
While the shorter-range Agnis I and II were mainly developed with traditional rival Pakistan in mind, later versions with a range of 3,500 kilometers — are perceived as China-centric deterrents.
A team of 800 have worked on the indigenously developed Agni V over the last three years, using new materials and technology to build motors capable of increasing the propulsion and speed of the new missile.
“Firstly you have a phenomenal range and so every single significant city — Beijing, Shanghai — will come within its range,” retired Air Force officer Kapil Kak from the Centre for Air Power Studies in India told AFP.
“Secondly, it has a very, very high speed compared to previous missiles… But the key issue is that this missile can be pushed to 8,000 kilometres.
“The significance there is that India then demonstrates the capability to make an ICBM,” he added.
There was no official reaction in China, but the state-run Global Times newspaper warned India “should not overestimate its strength” in an editorial published on Thursday.
“India should be clear that China’s nuclear power is stronger and more reliable. For the foreseeable future, India would stand no chance in an overall arms race with China,” it added.
The two Asian giants, each with a population of more than one billion, have prickly relations and a legacy of mistrust that stems from a brief but bloody border war in 1962.
In public, their leaders stress that trade is booming and that the world is big enough to accommodate both of them as they develop economically.
China’s military arsenal is far larger and far more technologically advanced than India’s, which is why the Agni V is so important, according to Monika Chansoria, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based Centre for Land Warfare Studies.
“What this missile does is enable India to upgrade its present strategic posture towards countries like China from one of dissuasion to one of credible deterrence,” Chansoria said.
Shannon Kile, an expert on nuclear weapons at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think-tank, said Agni V was partly a “prestige” development for India, supporting its aspirations to be global player.
The Agni V test came just weeks after India returned to the elite group of countries with a nuclear-powered submarine when it inducted a new vessel leased from Russia.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

68 COMMENTS

  1. India dont see pakistan as rival. India treats pakistan very badly in all matters. Even pakistan army is far behind the Indian army. Indian Army is world’s second largest standing army after China(India even leads America in this matter). Pakistan army is nowhere in the top 15 race. Indian army’s budget is also 10 times the budget of Pakistan army. Pakistan must spend much more on army to be in race…….

  3. Pakistan is helpless at the moment. Kayani, pakistan army chief, is urging India to push back their armies from siachen. How can pakistan expect India to push back their army? They are already in a leading position in Siachen and will not pull their army back at any cost.

  5. India also controlls The indus river in Kashmir. India is building dams and hydroelectricity projects in Kashmir. They can divert the water anytime after the dam is completed. Pakistan’s economy highly depends on Indus water. 90% of agriculture(primarily cotton) of pakistan uses water from indus. Pakistan will dry out if India divert the root of river. Our politicians are not at all worried about it. Shame on them……

  7. Pakistan is helpless at the moment. Kayani, pakistan army chief, is urging India to push back their armies from siachen. How can pakistan expect India to push back their army? They are already in a leading position in Siachen and will not pull their army back at any cost…..

  10. It is a reality of moderner politics that as Mao once said"Power grows out of the barrel of a gun:"India has to upgrade its defence capabilities if it has to contend with its hostile neighborhood.Having swallowed up vast tracts of its lands peaceful and fraternal negotiations is not going to get it back!

    • But in Mao's case, he had to live long enough to see for himself:

      "Power grows also out of the barrel of oil" …

  11. India does not consider Pakistan as a serious threat but only as a nuisance which allows jihadis to operate from its soil. If Pakistan is serious in addressing terrorism emnating from its soil then all other Isuues between India & Pakistan can be solved in a peaceful manner

    • and what about urs terrorist which ur government is supporting like baal thakreyy and shiv seena other members and that bloody colonel who has burnt 75 mulims in that train

      • To be fair, shiv seena never got the govt. support and the colonel is going to be solidly behind the bar (no judicial help). The colonel was arrested by the govt. law enforcement without any prompt from outside…

  12. Why has Pakistan stopped testing its missiles…AZ and co will do anything to plz US and Indian masters. Shame on them..As for India..plz start feeding the 700 million bhoka nangas first…or just give them agnis for breakfast.. haha..

    • Thanks for your kind sympathy for the poor…

      But, first, feel well yourself. Over excitement is always an unhealthy mental stress…

  13. Pakistan should focus on itself, eradicating poverty, get rid of terrorists, eliminate corruption and demonstrate religious tolerance and acceptance – rather than focus all its energy on India envy.. That is the only way, we as a nation can grow!

    • Rafi, if u r Pakistani national..u r really a understandable person and want a stable Pakistan.

  14. India is worlds’ second largest Standing army after china, third richest country(after america and china), world’s largest arms importer…… Noone in India is bhukha nanga(like people of pakistan), 37 out of world’s 100 richest persons are Indian(pakistan doesnot have a single name in the list). On other hand, Pakistan is 9th failed nation according to un report, 6th largest country under debt of world bank, world’s largest porn surfing nation (though islamic)…… What else u wanna know about pakistan…… Pakistan is like creep for India……

    Still you dare to call yourself India’s nuclear rival(you are far behind India, you loosers!!!)

    • Thanks for teaching us some patriotic slogans. Also, I salute your commanding position on the planet.

      But, first, feel well yourself. Over excitement is always an unhealthy mental stress…

  16. After attacking pakistan, we will occupy our land which belongs to us for time immemorial but was stolen from us by Jinnah. We will form Akhand Bharat as it was before 1947, where everyone will live in peace and brotherhood, there will be no other religion than humanity, India will rebecome the Golden bird as it was before British occupation……..long live India….. VANDE MATRAM….JAI HIND…..JAI BHARAT……

  17. There will be no terrorism and violence, once Pakistan rebecome part of India……there will be no poverty in Pakistan after that, no communal violence, no fights over kashmir and sindhu river, no fights over veena malik or nuclear weapon…….accede yourself to India or get ready to get attacked very soon……. We have formed this newly developed barister missile just for you brothers, to attack you and reoccupy our lost India…..jai hind jai bharat…….

  18. As an Indian, Its better to spend on Missiles rather than buying tanks n planes, its simple deterrence, & Pakistan & indians have same ancestors & same DNA, We should live like brothers so that we can eradicate the poverty in both our countries, I congratulate my indian brothers on this achievement & this missile can hit europe & australia which is a good deterence, I know this missile is of high speed & can go 8000 kms as well, but right now they are not releasing the same in press. but in future they might do it on the name of Agni6 or something. But at the same time we young indians should keep working hard like our generation is doing by working hard n honestly n whatever we are doing ! this is the way to take our India to be a world power by 2050 ! Inshallah we will show the world if given a right education we can do wonders !

  19. Well done the site adminstrator.Keep it up and soon this paper will close down for posting such trash.

    • You are happy. So, sure, go celebrate. Have some drink. You can dance in the street. But, please, don't disrobe. People may observe that, under your senile dress, you are a very ugly person…

  22. Dear Pakistani Friends ,
    What ever the test fired by India was absolutely Denterence
    purpose and we wount want to hurt you. Apart from current test we should proceeds to resolve bilateral issues pending for a long decade. Hopefully AWAM of both side could understand it.

    Regards,
    SC Tiwari

  23. asman jitna garajta hay itna barasta nahi,,,,,,

    it doesn't matter tht India launched such like missile,

    i'm proud of pakistani scientists tht have the ability to launch a missile which rang will more then 5000km but i think it's not the time to do so,,it's time to spend these money on our public's affairs,,

    • He is a naughty boy — does not listen. May be you can take him on a dinner date and convince…

      He likes nice ties…

  27. Being a father nation of Pakistan, its responsibility of India to do the welfare activity in Pakistan……. Team of doctors, intellects and infrastructure section are regularly visiting Pakistan……

  31. According to wikileaks, India had deported some 3 lakh RAW agents in Pakistan on 14 april……. Best wishes for you anon to handle all of them MOSSAD, NATO and now RAW, the whole Pakistan is now on your shoulders…..as your army and govt. Is already sold to America……keep safe your country….best wishes again…..

  32. You are welcome to Gujrat Mr. Anon. Gujrat has emerged as a bigger powerhub of commerce in Asia. We will provide loans to Pakistan govt. to feed their people and fight against terror….. You can take classes in any gujrati school…. I guarantee, it will better than the jehadi studies of Pakistani institutions…….

  34. This much love of pakistani people is really unbearable, that why India has deported 3 lakh Raw agents for safety of pakistani children from America……

  35. I have sent a letter to Pakistan govt. asking them to rent Pakistan to Gujrat. They agreed but are concerned about the safety measures of their top class politicians and terrorists. We will have final talks soon and you will be free from the monarchy. Your dream to become a country will soon be fulfilled with my help…..

    • The final talk has been postponed due to Obama's intervention. He wants to rent US to King Moodi…

      (sshhhh everybody – the kid is having a sweet, not wet, dream)

  36. Khan: update your knowledge. In my state, in 2002, a muslim mob stopped a train and set it on fire which boarded 57 hindu pilgrims, returning from Ayodhya, uttar pradesh. After this incident hindus of gujrat retaliated and killed around 2000 muslims in gujrat…..you must know that even after such a big incident the muslim of gujrat today is the most happiest and prosperous than muslim living elsewhere……

  37. Bib fatima: Even if you want to crush, you could not. Because, to crush a country like India, you need money, which niether your govt. nor your army possess……..hahaha….

  39. Pakistan has this capability, didnt test it to scare some specific countries. We dont have to match India anyway, this is the core part of Pakistan nuclear deterance as we cant match India in conventional weapons so we opted for nuclear path. Our approach is based on defence of Pakistan not as attacking other countries.

    • you begged the missile tech. from china,which in turn got the missile tech from other countries.india has build it from scrach….

      • oh yes, it was india i guess who actually invented the first rocket in the world:) and it was never based on Scud from your x russian buddies!! no not at all! everyone else in the world copy India and US and all actually get rockets from India.
        now listen to reality, rocket principle stayed same since its introduction to the world. Its matter of putting effort and skills to put together for any project like this from start to end. Almost 80% parts are from same vendors around the world. rest can vary. now call it chinese, german, american, russian, indian, pakistani. Its also good if India underestimates Pakistani defence techonolgies. So think whatever way it suits you!

  40. We saw this same arrogant attitude in India when they conducted their nuclear tests. Their tone and demeanor towards their neighbors becomes VERY obnoxious. Then a short while later we conducted our tests and the world saw who’s nuclear technology was superior – even former nuclear scientists of India came forward later on and stated that India’s yield claims were fabricated. Inshallah we’ll deliver a huge shut-up call to them when we conduct our own ICBM launch shortly. It’s announced to be within five days from now.

    It’s interesting how Indians criticize us about economic problems. Until like 2008, Pakistan economy was booming tremendously, and after that, the global recession effected all countries. Even India isn’t doing well these days, they experienced a stock market crash, and there is very tremendous inflation. Even official figures show they have hundreds of millions of people living beneath the poverty line, and meanwhile, the government is interested in gimmicks like weapons tests, renting new subs, or multi-billion dollar sports events to play catch-up with China. Even then, foreign athletes were reported to be shocked to see the conditions on the streets and how much poverty and filth there was.

    India is a bully nation. Whenever we give them an opportunity, whenever we are down, they make some excuse up to pressure us. In the 80s when the Soviet Red Army was on our western borders, the Indian govt made some excuse up and started amassing on our eastern borders. After 9/11 when Pakistan was under tremendous pressure from the US, India staged some attack on their parliament(into which, no serious investigation was carried, and culprits weren’t ever found), and again amassed on our borders. In 2008 when we were having problems with NATO, India staged this Mumbai drama, where their police and military sat and watched, and for nearly a week didn’t even enter the building where seven terrorists were holed up, this is very suspicious as the building was so large – three hundred rooms, that the police could have gained control of most of the building without the terrorists even finding out. And yet they didn’t, and allowed the terrorists to continue their work, and then blamed Pakistan, and their lame evidence was that the terrorists had large quantities of “sufi soap”, dentonic, and other Pakistan manufactured things – as if these terrorists were there to open a general store. They submitted fake lists of terrorists, which was very embarrassing for them when many of the terrorists India listed as being involved in the Mumbai attacks, were found to have been in Indian jails for years. The Indian government was caught faking lists of terrorists and just making things up. Why would they do that, why would they hide the names of the real people involved, other than this “Ajmal Kassab” poster boy whom they parade around, but only give highly controlled interviews with. Perhaps they are afraid he’ll say something.

    I’m really sick of uninformed Indians getting all uppity and blaming us of fostering terrorism, when their government is repeatedly found supporting terrorism in all neighbors, from backing the Tamils against Sri Lanka to the killing of over a thousand Bengalis in unprovoked firing in border areas, to India’s activities in Baluchistan and Afghanistan.

    So learn a few things, and fix your own problems before advising us on ours. When ones own economy is so troubled and the country has enormous problems with poverty, it is laughably ridiculous to condemn other countries on these things.

  41. how stupid we Pakistanies and indians are. we are developing weapons against each other and trying to finish each other. and our civilians are dying because of hunger

Comments are closed.