Why India needs an ICBM

In the backdrop of an extremely disturbed security environment in India’s neighbourhood and taking into account India’s policy of no first use of nuclear weapon, the need for a full-fledged Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile featuring cutting edge technologies has become all the more pronounced to defend the territorial integrity of the country.

Moreover, India cannot afford to remain a silent spectator to the massive build up of an ICBM arsenal by China. On a more proactive plane, an ICBM capability is vital for India to be recognised as a military power of global standing. India should look beyond the Chinese threat to build a sturdy ICBM muscle to showcase Indian technological prowess that cannot be browbeaten by the technology denial regime.

As things stand, designing and developing an ICBM with a strike range of more than 10,000-km should not pose any problem to the country. Clearly and apparently, India has expertise, infrastructure and technology at its disposal.

As it is, India’s strides in designing and developing a range of military missiles including the long range Agni-V ballistic missile and civilian space vehicles could easily be exploited to realise and test an ICBM. However, the political leadership in New Delhi should show foresight and grit to give the go ahead for an Indian ICBM.

Sometime back, there were news reports to suggest that the government was planning to cap the range of Indian missiles. Though this was subsequently discounted, the government should factor in the possibility of the US coercing India to drop its plan for an ICBM. For in late 1990s, the US had exerted severe pressure on the Indian government to annul the development of Agni missile being developed as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

For, it was alleged that the solid fuel technology developed for India’s first civilian space vehicle SLV-3 was exploited for speeding up the Agni ballistic missile programme.

Incidentally, former President APJ Abdul Kalam had spearheaded both the SLV-3 development and IGMDP. Indeed, many think tanks in the US continue to hold the view that India’s long range missile development programme has benefited enormously from the technologies developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation for its satellite launch vehicles.

This mindset led the US government to impose a trade sanction and technology embargo on ISRO in 1992 following the Indian space agency’s plan to acquire cryogenic engine technology from Russia for India’s three stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Of course, the long range Agni-V missile — capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 5000-km — which is now all set for its debut flight, can take care of most locations in China. But then an ICBM could act as a major morale booster to the Indian defence forces.

Rightly and appropriately, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has decided to equip Agni-V with Multiple, Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. This technology, which was first developed by the US in the 1960s for its Minuteman missile, could enhance India’s deterrence capability substantially.

As pointed out by Avinash Chander, DRDO’s chief controller of research and development, missiles and strategic systems, ‘As of now, most of India’s perceived and potential strategic threats are localized within 5,500 km range. Agni-V will take care of this concern.’ Chander drives home the point that because Agni-V is a canister-launched missile, it would be difficult to detect it. Indeed, the stealth feature of the road mobile Agni-V could go a long way towards bolstering the combat edge of the Indian defence forces.

He also stressed the point that the DRDO has the technological capability required to build missiles that can go beyond 12,000-km range.

Chander was clear in his perception that in the backdrop of the fast-changing strategic scenario, India should be ready for a wide range of eventualities. Indeed, China’s growing military might should wake up both the defence establishment and political leadership to initiate an action plan aimed at building a ‘semblance of countermeasures’ in the form of an ICBM to begin with.

Further, one cannot rule out the possibility of China developing a space force like its neighbour Russia to give an integrated thrust to its missile defence strategy.

Sometime back, the Chinese state controlled media described Agni-V as a killer system capable of reaching several cities in China with the conclusion that New Delhi’s intention is to become a major power in the region. Perhaps China is aware that Agni-V will serve as the stepping for the development of an Indian ICBM, a development that rulers in Beijing will find hard to digest.