India emerging as a major military power

[Hafizzz]

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India emerging as a major military power
Gulf Times ? Qatar?s top-selling English daily newspaper - Opinion

India launches first intercontinental ballistic missile”, the world media misreported this week. True enough, India did launch a new, 5,000 km-ranged Agni-V missile that can deliver a nuclear warhead to Beijing and Shanghai.
Previously, India’s 3,500-km Agni-III did not have the range to hit China’s major coastal cities.
But Agni-V is not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as wrongly reported. Nor was the missile North Korea launched on 15 April that fell apart soon after liftoff. Some media wrongly claimed it was an ICBM that could hit the United States.
One longs for the days when media employed real war correspondents who understood military affairs.
A true ICBM has a minimum range of at least 8,000 km and more likely 12,000 km. India and North Korea’s missiles were medium-ranged ballistic missiles (MRBM’s). The difference is important because MRBM’s are theatre weapons while ICBM’s threaten the entire globe.
India crowed with pride over its Agni-V launch. One government scientist claimed Agni-V made India “a major missile power”. By contrast, India’s growing rival, China, dismissed the launch with a disdainful sniff.
But, as this column has been writing for years, India is indeed emerging as a major military power.
In 1999, this writer’s book, War at the Top of the World, began examining the growth of India’s military and postulated that India and China would one day go to war over their ill-defined Himalayan border and Burma.
Today, India has become the world’s largest importer of arms. India’s navy is to deploy three aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles, a powerful air force, and armed forces of 1.3mn. India has long land and maritime frontiers and needs large, well-equipped military forces.
India and China have long been locked in an arms race, though neither will admit it. China holds a lead over India in modernised armed forces, but India is catching up. India is deeply concerned over China’s land, air and missile forces on the Tibetan Plateau overlooking the plains of India, and by China’s development of blue water naval forces that are edging into the Indian Ocean.
Yet almost unnoticed by the outside world, India has also been long working to develop a true ICBM that can reach North America, Europe and Australia. Why India, a nation of deep poverty, needs a missile that can deliver nuclear warheads to New York or Paris, remains a mystery.
The most likely reason is prestige and a seat on the UN Security Council. But there is also the possibility that one day India may confront the United States over Mideast oil, or confront Russia and China in Central Asia.
India’s deliverable nuclear arsenal, like those of all other nations, is designed for strategic deterrence – a national life insurance policy.
Delhi has masked development of an ICBM behind its space launch programme. As Washington tartly noted last week about North Korea’s attempt to put a satellite into orbit, a booster that can place a satellite in orbit can just as well deliver a nuclear warhead.
The same applies to India. For now, India is a close US ally, and the recipient of US and Israeli help in building its nuclear arsenal.
India’s purported ICBM is named “Surya” and is believed to have a planned range of 12,000km. The missile is said to be composed of the main stage of its PSLV space launcher and Agni-V. Its development remains shrouded in secrecy. The programme has had many failures and misfires.
India is also deploying nuclear ballistic missiles on its growing submarine forces, including the 7,500-km-range K-15 and 3,500-km range K-4, and well as cruise missiles and a range of deadly anti-ship missiles designed to sink aircraft carriers.
The US Navy is the only power operating large attack carriers in the Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea. Indians still angrily recall a US carrier group, Task Force 74, steamed menacingly off its coast during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
The third maritime leg of India’s nuclear triad provides a secure second strike capability after a surprise nuclear attack. But is also gives India the ability to attack most of the world’ capitals from the sea.

India said she is "no threat" to America, Europe or Australia.....but the highlighted paragraph begs to differ.

[AVinayKumar]

About the author Eric Margolis

Margolis writes a regular column for the Huffington Post and also writes for Dawn,[6] an English language Pakistani newspaper, the Gulf Times[7] in Qatar, the Khaleej Times[8] in Dubai, New York Times[9] and The American Conservative[10][11] . He appears regularly on such television outlets as CNN,[3] Fox, CBC,[3] British Sky Broadcasting News, NPR, and CTV.[12][13] He is a regular guest on the TV Ontario's The Agenda'[14]'.

He is affiliated with several organizations including International Institute of Strategic Studies[15] in London and the Institute of Regional Studies[3] based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Margolis has argued that the American government may have been behind the 9/11 attacks. On September 10, 2010, in a column on his website[20] Margolis declares "we still do not know the real story about 9/11." Margolis' arguments include, the Osama Bin Laden tapes are fakes, questioning why the Air Force didn't shoot down the planes, asserting a lack of plane wreckage at the Pentagon, and repeating the theory that 9/11 was "staged by Israel’s Mossad and a cabal of right-wing US Air Force generals” without criticizing the theory.

Nuff Said

[ramu]

India’s purported ICBM is named “Surya” and is believed to have a planned range of 12,000km. The missile is said to be composed of the main stage of its PSLV space launcher and Agni-V. Its development remains shrouded in secrecy. The programme has had many failures and misfires.

Really ?

[jagjitnatt]

Very poor reporting. We all know Surya never materialized.

India is also deploying nuclear ballistic missiles on its growing submarine forces, including the 7,500-km-range K-15 and 3,500-km range K-4, and well as cruise missiles and a range of deadly anti-ship missiles designed to sink aircraft carriers.

Whoa, I didn't know K-15 was 7500 km missile.

The writer is smoking something he shouldn't touch.

[IndianTiger]

India said she is "no threat" to America, Europe or Australia.....but the highlighted paragraph begs to differ.

We have poverty but we are not poor country we are 3rd largest economy in the world in terms of PPP, and 9th largest economy overall.

[Shinigami]

you only highlighted the poverty part (as usual). let me do the rest.

India launches first intercontinental ballistic missile”, the world media misreported this week. True enough, India did launch a new, 5,000 km-ranged Agni-V missile that can deliver a nuclear warhead to Beijing and Shanghai.
Previously, India’s 3,500-km Agni-III did not have the range to hit China’s major coastal cities.
But Agni-V is not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as wrongly reported. Nor was the missile North Korea launched on 15 April that fell apart soon after liftoff. Some media wrongly claimed it was an ICBM that could hit the United States.
One longs for the days when media employed real war correspondents who understood military affairs.
A true ICBM has a minimum range of at least 8,000 km and more likely 12,000 km. India and North Korea’s missiles were medium-ranged ballistic missiles (MRBM’s). The difference is important because MRBM’s are theatre weapons while ICBM’s threaten the entire globe.
India crowed with pride over its Agni-V launch. One government scientist claimed Agni-V made India “a major missile power”. By contrast, India’s growing rival, China, dismissed the launch with a disdainful sniff.
But, as this column has been writing for years, India is indeed emerging as a major military power.
In 1999, this writer’s book, War at the Top of the World, began examining the growth of India’s military and postulated that India and China would one day go to war over their ill-defined Himalayan border and Burma.
Today, India has become the world’s largest importer of arms. India’s navy is to deploy three aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles, a powerful air force, and armed forces of 1.3mn. India has long land and maritime frontiers and needs large, well-equipped military forces.
India and China have long been locked in an arms race, though neither will admit it. China holds a lead over India in modernised armed forces, but India is catching up. India is deeply concerned over China’s land, air and missile forces on the Tibetan Plateau overlooking the plains of India, and by China’s development of blue water naval forces that are edging into the Indian Ocean.
Yet almost unnoticed by the outside world, India has also been long working to develop a true ICBM that can reach North America, Europe and Australia. Why India, a nation of deep poverty, needs a missile that can deliver nuclear warheads to New York or Paris, remains a mystery.
The most likely reason is prestige and a seat on the UN Security Council. But there is also the possibility that one day India may confront the United States over Mideast oil, or confront Russia and China in Central Asia.
India’s deliverable nuclear arsenal, like those of all other nations, is designed for strategic deterrence – a national life insurance policy.
Delhi has masked development of an ICBM behind its space launch programme. As Washington tartly noted last week about North Korea’s attempt to put a satellite into orbit, a booster that can place a satellite in orbit can just as well deliver a nuclear warhead.
The same applies to India. For now, India is a close US ally, and the recipient of US and Israeli help in building its nuclear arsenal.
India’s purported ICBM is named “Surya” and is believed to have a planned range of 12,000km. The missile is said to be composed of the main stage of its PSLV space launcher and Agni-V. Its development remains shrouded in secrecy. The programme has had many failures and misfires.
India is also deploying nuclear ballistic missiles on its growing submarine forces, including the 7,500-km-range K-15 and 3,500-km range K-4, and well as cruise missiles and a range of deadly anti-ship missiles designed to sink aircraft carriers.
The US Navy is the only power operating large attack carriers in the Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea. Indians still angrily recall a US carrier group, Task Force 74, steamed menacingly off its coast during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
The third maritime leg of India’s nuclear triad provides a secure second strike capability after a surprise nuclear attack. But is also gives India the ability to attack most of the world’ capitals from the sea.

[OrionHunter]

Why Hafizzzzzzz, has this been highlighted by you in BOLD RED?

Why India, a nation of deep poverty, needs a missile

WTF lady! Can you stop your poverty cliche for a change? You've started making us sick with your one word agenda. Every goddamn thread of yours is about Indian poverty! Are you aware how many billions of dollars Pakistan is spending on nukes? Can Pakistan afford it? You talk as though Pakistan is the world's richest state. People in glass houses shouldn't be throwing stones, what?

[Hafizzz]

We have poverty but we are not poor country we are 3rd largest economy in the world in terms of PPP, and 9th largest economy overall.

Of course India is poor....even poor African countries do better than India.

[Ammyy]

Of course India is poor....even poor African countries do better than India.

If any dumb not want to understand so its not our fault .... we are secend fastest growing economy of the world ....

about your idiotic claim put a current data for with source ....

[nemesis102]

Of course India is poor....even poor African countries do better than India.

Explain with proof.. till then you are one dumb *** troll....

[Hafizzz]

If any dumb not want to understand so its not our fault .... we are secend fastest growing economy of the world ....

about your idiotic claim put a current data for with source ....

So a "2nd fastest growing economy" cannot be poor ????

[Ammyy]

So a "2nd fastest growing economy" cannot be poor ????

Even USA have poor


Poverty in India reducing very fast ... just google current official data


All this because of growing economy

[northeast]

how can india be second fastest growing country？they just surpassed by russia in 2011，lol.

[tunguska]

So a "2nd fastest growing economy" cannot be poor ????

Yes can not be poor.

[Developereo]

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India said she is "no threat" to America, Europe or Australia.....but the highlighted paragraph begs to differ.

Dude, forget it. The West will turn a blind eye because they know India's focus is on China and they can sell weapons to India to cash in on that fixation.

As for any future danger, the US can still obliterate India's capability if the need be. India has a LONG way to go before it gets anywhere in the same league as Russia or China.