India’s defence is a high priority task and the government is leaving no stones unturned to make India safe. Our defense department has made a lot of efforts to build a security cover around India, the latest being the Agni III Missile. But is Agni III enough to protect the Indian peninsula from neighbors such as China and Pakistan? Agni III is India’s ambitious Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM), which faced test failures in 2006, but was successfully test fired on all counts in April 2007. According to the tribuneindia website, it is a naval missile, which can also carry nuclear weapons with a range of over 3,000 km and a total payload of 1.5 tonnes. It also has an extension parameter that can accommodate compact design, greater payload and longer striking ranges. Agni III is considered to be a milestone in the efforts of Indian Scientists in the DRDO, for the following reasons: Increased credible deterrence against China With the successful test fire of Agni III, India has an assured protection against its northern neighbor, China, whose missile capacity is far superior to that of India. It’s a matter of grave concern that China has maintained steady momentum in its missile acquirements. Intelligent missile Agni III doesn’t depend on ground systems. While in flight, it needs no communication from outside forces and is intelligent enough to calculate the target position it is designed to reach. Self-reliant defence strategy
Agni III makes Indian defence strategy self-reliant and at-par with that of the developed countries. The mission director, Shri Avinash Chander, in an interview to Indian AeroDef, says that India has achieved many firsts by this launch, vis-à-vis state-of-the-art rocket technology and use of built-in fault tolerant avionics for better guidance and control. A prototype for future missiles Agni III has been modeled with many first-of-its-kind features that will be implemented in future missile designing. It is also the first missile to cross the equator. Its design is uniquely modeled to accommodate future revisions and successful upgradations. But these statistics are not enough protection against our neighbors’ hoard of weapons, because -
China possesses missiles that have ranges greater than Agni III.
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Pakistan’s nuclear team has been conducting regular missile tests.
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Both China and Pakistan adopt an aggressive and maximalist approach in acquiring arms.
While India sticks to the ‘no first use’ policy, it is absolutely essential for her to be capable enough for a counter-attack in case of a threat. India has no real threat from China because China has had these missiles since three decades. Agni III can reach only up to Shanghai and Beijing. For the sake of world peace, it is assumed that neither China nor India is going to indulge in threatening one another. So, while China and Pakistan continue to acquire nuclear arms, isn’t it fair that India raise its own defence levels to at least that of its nuclear-armed neighbors? What is your view on the issue? Will there ever be an end to this arms race?
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