India has successfully conducted a flight test of an advanced Agni missile featuring Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology off the coast of Odisha.
Three milestones in three days signal India's growing mastery in next-generation strategic technologies spanning nuclear deterrence, hypersonic propulsion and precision stand-off strike capability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists over the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile, capable of deploying multiple warheads.
"We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of approximately 170 warheads. The US Defense Intelligence Agency projected in 1999 that Pakistan would have 60 to 80 warheads by 2020, but several new weapon systems have been fielded and developed since then, which leads us to a higher estimate," the Nuclear Notebook column published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on September 11 said.
Kim did not rule out diplomacy with the Biden administration despite that Pyongyang called Biden a 'rabid dog' after Biden labelled Kim a 'thug'.
Although the credit for acquiring the technological skill must be given to India's outstanding nuclear scientists, the decision to go nuclear was a political one that entailed clarity of vision, courage and resolve, points out Rup Narayan Das.
China has more than 500 nuclear bombs in its arsenal and is developing new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
'India must close the missile technology gap with both China and Pakistan as early as possible, or else the credibility of India's nuclear deterrence will remain suspect,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
China was the first country to export such sensitive equipment to Pakistan
Even without a sanctioned government project for the Agni-6, it seems inevitable that the Agni-5, over the next few years, will organically evolve into an ICBM with improved technologies and capabilities.
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