Posted on 10/04/2020 8:52:37 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
For decades, India has feared a multi-front war with China and Pakistan. By modernizing its military, along with investments in nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles, New Delhi could be on a pathway to deter or manage conflict with either one of its nuclear-armed neighbors.
In what appears to be the second hypersonic missile test in weeks, India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable hypersonic missile dubbed "Shaurya," defense sources told Hindustan Times.
"The surface-to-surface tactical missile was blasted off from a canister strapped to the ground launcher from launch complex 4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in the APJ Abdul Kalam Island around 12.10 pm and covered the desired range," the source said.
The state-of-the-art missile, with speeds of March 7.5 (5,754 mph), was able to conduct a "maneuver" at the "closing stages of its flight before striking a predefined target in the Bay of Bengal.
A Defence Research and Development Organisation official said Shaurya is one of the top ten missiles in the world "with high-performance navigation and guidance systems, efficient propulsion systems, sophisticated control technologies and canisterised launch."
The missile can be launched from canisters mounted on a truck or from missile silos buried deep underground. The source said the missile could easily be transported by truck, allowing the mobile platform to continually be moved and making it harder for China or Pakistan to detect them with satellite imaging.
The New Indian Express said, "the missile is capable of deceiving enemy radar aims to give India more options to hit back, in case it is attacked with nuclear weapons."
Just weeks ago, India "successfully" test-fired a Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle that was capable of hitting speeds over Mach 6 (4,600 mph).
Successful flight test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island off the cost of Odisha today. pic.twitter.com/7SstcyLQVo — रक्षा मंत्री कार्यालय/ RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) September 7, 2020
The early September launch came as India and China have been locked in a military standoff along the Line of Actual Control, a 2,175 mile disputed border between both countries, that stretches from the Ladakh region in the north to the Indian state of Sikkim.
In terms of geopolitical instabilities, the world is focused on the developments surrounding the Armenian-Azerbaijan war, but a close eye should also be kept on the Sino-Indian border.
Well, if things go hot between Chy-na and India, will it make people more likely to vote for a demented kiddie-sniffer?
If it’s in the article I apologize. Does India have any allies in the event of war? Like an actual written agreement?
You’ve gotta feel sorry for India...sharing a border with the two filthiest countries on earth.
RE: Does India have any allies in the event of war?
India used to have an alliance with Russia. Not sure if it is still applicable. Recently these two countries, China and Pakistan, India’s main opponents, have become closer to Russia. Therefore the coming years would be of strategic importance for India.
India is neutral to almost all the nations except some of neighbours. The allies which can be trusted in any situation are:
1.Israel : Recent surveys and polls in the Jewish state have shown that India is most favoured nation in Israel and most of Israelis support India over other nations.
2. Japan :India and Japan have much in common.Both are ancient civilizations with determination to move to the top. Japan has always supported India since its independence. Japan is a strong global economic power.
3. Nepal : Despite financial assistance from China, Nepal share a culture that is traditionally closer to Indian different cultures rather than the Chinese one.
Bhutan, Phillipines, Vietnam and South Korea would also be interested to support India in order to curb Chinese growing threat in the South China Sea.
And last but not least ( assuming President Trump remains President ), It will also include the US of A. Trump is seen as a friend of India and could use her help in curbing the growing power of China.
“sharing a border with the two filthiest countries on earth.”
India is one the filthiest countries on Earth.
Hey thanks man that covered a lot of countries.
I had no idea that India and Russia ever had an alliance. Interesting.
The countries who have the greatest to fear from China in the area...it makes sense they would be very concerned.
And yeah I don’t see Trump sitting on the sideslines.
Thanks again for the info.
Have a good one.
Yup...been there,done that. But by “filthy” I meant in terms of culture,leaders,etc.
That can make a Huge difference in a war.
Right? I’m actually not really sure :)
China has so many pieces of military hardware.
but the right weapons from the US could make the fight much more even.
Again, I think :)
India would have a lot of countries wanting them to stop China...but committing troops is another story...
Hopefully it just won’t happen.
India’s air force did not fare well in that last little skirmish, I think. Hopefully they have improved in that arena.
Thanks for the reply
The top photo looks like an old Soviet built Frog missile.
Their national policy since independence has been “non-alignment”. But the practical reality was an anti-western pro-Soviet bent for the first few decades. Back then Pakistan was an informal US client. Later (after the 1962-63 border scuffles with Red China) the Pakis became chummy with Mao. A change to friendlier relations with the USA, Europe, and Israel evolved after the Soviet collapse and the assassinations of Mrs. Gandhi and her son. They have no formal treaty alliances as far as I know. Then again, with the possible exception of North Korea, I don’t think China has any either.
Keep in mind that Chinese soldiers are generally not the best - the last batch sent to this from was filmed crying.
Hitler thought the Soviet Union was going to be a cakewalk because of how the Red Army performed in Finland.
Thanks.
I guess pieces of armor don’t matter a whole lot (as we saw with saddam’s 4 billion tanks getting WRECKED in the gulf war while we lost a few)
But China has quite a bit more.
They have backed off so far in the few skirmishes there have been.
I notice India refers to their dead soldiers as martyrs.
Never easy to beat a country with that kind of attitude.
I know they do not mean it in the same way insane muslims do and I think it’s a positive thing.
But what do I know? :)
China, on the other hand, is a monolithic state with the supremacy of the Han Chinese, Mandarin, and the Communist Party enforced from the barrels of guns and the walls of concentration camps. Their urban infrastructure is world class, but go into the countryside and back into the third world. And, of course, they have all those dollars we've kindly contributed to their development as a global threat.
I think all this makes China much stronger on paper but brittle, and India more able to absorb any setbacks in a military conflict. I've traveled in both countries many times, but not for several years. So this is just my own set of opinions.
Yes and no, the Chinese troops involved were basically garrison troops and the lowest quality they have short of reserves. Their front line troops until recently were busy on the other side of the country - they rolled them out for COVID.
“But by “filthy” I meant in terms of culture,leaders,etc.”
We’re still talking India then.
India and Russia have had various degrees of alliance over the decades. They collaborate on weapons systems (the feared BrahMos missile, for example) and India often gets non-export versions of Russian weapons systems. Take a look at their Army and Air Force tables of organization and equipment and you’ll see quite a few Russian and Russian-based weapons systems.
Armor does matter, especially in the modern era with tanks having Active Protection Systems.
However, the area where the Indians and Chinese have been skirmishing does not necessarily lend itself well to armor - lots of long, high altitude valleys, mountain passes, steep climbs, etc. China sent some of their new light tanks there, India rolled some of their T-72 derivatives.
Should be pointed out that Saddam’s T-72 tanks were easy meat for a number of reasons. There were some defects in the design, sure, but that was less of an issue than the other issues:
1. All of his tanks were export models or copies of export models. These are by definition deliberately degraded, reduced capability (and in some cases, deliberately simplified - hence the historic nickname for export models being the ‘monkey model’) sold to other countries - this is so they are going to be at a disadvantage to the exporting country’s version. In this specific case, the Iraqi T-72s were equipped with a lesser armor package and never had the advanced countermeasures suite of the time which would include the Active Protection System.
2. Poor training and doctrine on the part of the Iraqi army - pretty much self explanatory. They didn’t train often enough, they aped *some* Soviet doctrine without really understanding why or agreeing with it, etc., etc.
3. Poor maintenance - after the war, it was found that a lot of the Iraqi armor was already dysfunctional to some degree or other before being thrown into battle.
If you ignore the above, you then have to say that the M1 Abrams is a terrible crappy tank because more than a few of them in the hands of other forces have been killed in Iraq and Yemen, among other places.
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