INTRODUCTION
If we naive Indians have to aver the barb of Mr. Gary Milhollin who doesn't fail to incessantly purport ad nausea in various fora across the US in the hope that we would sublimely come to believe that the American military and space program has been a squeaky clean effort. Pitifully and regrettably it is not so. He jibes that the Indian civilian space and later military programs have been offshoots of generous help rendered by the western space powers, especially the US, Germany and France. However, what he his figuratively trying to convey is rhetorical, deceptive and discriminating in its agenda. Agreed, India may have taken some technical aid from other nations to develop its nascent civilian space program, but discounting India's genuine effort thereafter to develop technology is certainly selective amnesia. Interestingly, America did not develop its space or military ballistic missile programs on its own, it however leapfrogged to acquire high technology solutions in space and defense by resorting to ignominious means.
PROOF IN THE PUDDING
Modern rocketry started with the ambitions of an obnoxious and direful psychopath who wanted to dominate the world. His name - Hitler. He wanted to possess a super weapon to quash the allied countries. The man who would help Hitler realize this dream was a Nazi rocket scientist named Wernher Magnus Maximilian von Braun or commonly known as Wernher von Braun, an avid Nazi sympathizer. He developed the V-2 or Aggregat-4 long-range ballistic missile perhaps one of the greatest technological achievements of this century. After the fall of the “Third Reich”, American soldiers captured von Braun and some of his key associates, and the prized catch was clandestinely shipped to America. The Americans brought over 300 trainloads of spare V-2 parts to the United States from Nazi Germany. Much of von Braun's production team was also captured by the Soviets. Wernher von Braun and his compatriots war careers as Nazis was deceitfully hidden from the public by the US government. In White Sands, New Mexico, von Braun and his team trained and tested rockets for the US military and for several years went about launching captured V-2 rockets. Before 1945, neither the Americans nor the Soviets had any extensive advanced rocket facilities or programs and it was von Braun and his team who were instrumental in developing this capability. Hence, the early American rocket program development is steeped in so much muck that even the Americans would want to forget and disown it. This could be the very reason why Mr. Milhollin fails to mention this fact even as a supplementary note in his speeches on the subject of proliferation.
India has a very solid non-proliferation record unlike China or Pakistan in the region as its institutions are bound by solid democratic principles governed by rule of law and its decision makers have complete legislative power over these entities. India has been a very responsible and stable nuclear power right from its inception and until this day. The authors' contention and concern on the risk that cooperating with India (this was way back in the 1990's) could contribute to the spread of missile technology was rather unfounded. On the other hand, when Pakistan illegally started developing its atom bomb in response to India's own nuclear weapon status, by either stealing, smuggling or rummaging the international market for machinery, parts and components, the Americans conveniently turned the proverbial blind eye thus encouraging Pakistan to develop what is now known as the "Islamic Bomb". This was permitted by the US in the name of its National Interest policy. Other intervention policies like the support to the Afghan Mujaheddin has backfired with severe ramifications which eventually led to the 9/11 massacre of several thousand innocent Americans. On the question of China, these guys supplied Pakistan with sophisticated gas centrifuges to enrich uranium and in turn, Pakistan sold this technology to Iran and Libya via the A Q Khan network in the name of “Islamic Brotherhood”. The US did not take Pakistan to task then, when A Q Khan openly sold other nuclear technology secrets to the so-called “Rouge State” North Korea, all it did was to impose punitive sanctions, which the Pakistanis cared less. Pakistan continued trading in illegal weapons despite these sanctions since it was aware that the US would not alter its "friendly" relationship with it because of the ongoing war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US is dependent on Pakistan for logistics support.
Pakistani weapons trade with North Korea is rather amusing since the technology exchange followed was a sort of archaic barter system; Pakistan got critical ballistic missile technology from North Korea in exchange for Pakistan’s nuclear know-how.
The Americans have failed to realize that they are bound to face an impending nuclear attack not from India, Russia, China, North Korea or even Iran but sure as shooting from Pakistan. Realizing rather late US and its cohorts are hastening ways and means to secure Pakistan’s dirty bombs, especially given Pakistan’s vacillation between being ruled by a trigger happy military junta and the fair chance of being overrun by religious zealots who by all means will not hesitate to use these nuclear assets against India, Israel and the US.
Hence, it is imperative that India develops and maintains a minimum qualitative and quantitative credible nuclear deterrence and defense program in whatsoever manner against its adversaries, taking into account its long term strategic and security requirements as a responsible emerging global power.
PROJECT "DEVIL" & "VALIANT"
If we naive Indians have to aver the barb of Mr. Gary Milhollin who doesn't fail to incessantly purport ad nausea in various fora across the US in the hope that we would sublimely come to believe that the American military and space program has been a squeaky clean effort. Pitifully and regrettably it is not so. He jibes that the Indian civilian space and later military programs have been offshoots of generous help rendered by the western space powers, especially the US, Germany and France. However, what he his figuratively trying to convey is rhetorical, deceptive and discriminating in its agenda. Agreed, India may have taken some technical aid from other nations to develop its nascent civilian space program, but discounting India's genuine effort thereafter to develop technology is certainly selective amnesia. Interestingly, America did not develop its space or military ballistic missile programs on its own, it however leapfrogged to acquire high technology solutions in space and defense by resorting to ignominious means.
PROOF IN THE PUDDING
Modern rocketry started with the ambitions of an obnoxious and direful psychopath who wanted to dominate the world. His name - Hitler. He wanted to possess a super weapon to quash the allied countries. The man who would help Hitler realize this dream was a Nazi rocket scientist named Wernher Magnus Maximilian von Braun or commonly known as Wernher von Braun, an avid Nazi sympathizer. He developed the V-2 or Aggregat-4 long-range ballistic missile perhaps one of the greatest technological achievements of this century. After the fall of the “Third Reich”, American soldiers captured von Braun and some of his key associates, and the prized catch was clandestinely shipped to America. The Americans brought over 300 trainloads of spare V-2 parts to the United States from Nazi Germany. Much of von Braun's production team was also captured by the Soviets. Wernher von Braun and his compatriots war careers as Nazis was deceitfully hidden from the public by the US government. In White Sands, New Mexico, von Braun and his team trained and tested rockets for the US military and for several years went about launching captured V-2 rockets. Before 1945, neither the Americans nor the Soviets had any extensive advanced rocket facilities or programs and it was von Braun and his team who were instrumental in developing this capability. Hence, the early American rocket program development is steeped in so much muck that even the Americans would want to forget and disown it. This could be the very reason why Mr. Milhollin fails to mention this fact even as a supplementary note in his speeches on the subject of proliferation.
India has a very solid non-proliferation record unlike China or Pakistan in the region as its institutions are bound by solid democratic principles governed by rule of law and its decision makers have complete legislative power over these entities. India has been a very responsible and stable nuclear power right from its inception and until this day. The authors' contention and concern on the risk that cooperating with India (this was way back in the 1990's) could contribute to the spread of missile technology was rather unfounded. On the other hand, when Pakistan illegally started developing its atom bomb in response to India's own nuclear weapon status, by either stealing, smuggling or rummaging the international market for machinery, parts and components, the Americans conveniently turned the proverbial blind eye thus encouraging Pakistan to develop what is now known as the "Islamic Bomb". This was permitted by the US in the name of its National Interest policy. Other intervention policies like the support to the Afghan Mujaheddin has backfired with severe ramifications which eventually led to the 9/11 massacre of several thousand innocent Americans. On the question of China, these guys supplied Pakistan with sophisticated gas centrifuges to enrich uranium and in turn, Pakistan sold this technology to Iran and Libya via the A Q Khan network in the name of “Islamic Brotherhood”. The US did not take Pakistan to task then, when A Q Khan openly sold other nuclear technology secrets to the so-called “Rouge State” North Korea, all it did was to impose punitive sanctions, which the Pakistanis cared less. Pakistan continued trading in illegal weapons despite these sanctions since it was aware that the US would not alter its "friendly" relationship with it because of the ongoing war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US is dependent on Pakistan for logistics support.
Pakistani weapons trade with North Korea is rather amusing since the technology exchange followed was a sort of archaic barter system; Pakistan got critical ballistic missile technology from North Korea in exchange for Pakistan’s nuclear know-how.
The Americans have failed to realize that they are bound to face an impending nuclear attack not from India, Russia, China, North Korea or even Iran but sure as shooting from Pakistan. Realizing rather late US and its cohorts are hastening ways and means to secure Pakistan’s dirty bombs, especially given Pakistan’s vacillation between being ruled by a trigger happy military junta and the fair chance of being overrun by religious zealots who by all means will not hesitate to use these nuclear assets against India, Israel and the US.
Hence, it is imperative that India develops and maintains a minimum qualitative and quantitative credible nuclear deterrence and defense program in whatsoever manner against its adversaries, taking into account its long term strategic and security requirements as a responsible emerging global power.
(Gary Milhollin-Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School and Director, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control in a discourse before the House Committee on Science, June 25, 1998)
PROJECT "DEVIL" & "VALIANT"
India’s quest to develop a short-range ballistic missile
started way back in the 1970’s when the Project “Devil” and Project “Valiant”
were conceived. These projects were the precursor of the more transparent and
successful Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) conceived by former President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, which was launched in 1983. It is generally believed that the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), which had begun in 1958 and later, transpired
into what is now DRDO intended to reverse engineer the Soviet Union’s S-75 Dvina ballistic missile. This is not the case, as India never had the policy
to either reverse engineer nor adopt crafty branding techniques of bought out weapons as being done by
other nations to bolster its offensive aspirations. Project “Valiant” died an
early death and Project “Devil” continued with secretive government funding and support. The project was a partial success, however plenty of new
technologies, design competence, materials and components development and production techniques were realized during its development,
which laid ground for the more successful Prithvi and Akash programs.
Though there are several imported missiles in the armed forces, I have however focused exclusively on the systems developed indigenously.
The task to develop several technologies was difficult for the Indian scientists as they did not have prior expertise, industrial infrastructure nor the production efficiency to develop high-tech machinery, components, subsystems and products. But with customary resolve they solved daunting problems successively and developed truly world class products for the armed forces. Over the past decade development of critical technologies has been accomplished on a trial and error basis, similar to the proven model of repetitive testing adopted by the erstwhile Soviet space and defense scientists to prove the efficacy of new technologies. Therefore, delivery schedules of some final products has suffered to reach the end-users on time and as a result DRDO and its related agencies have invited considerable flak. However, in most of the cases the rebukes are rather unmindful, unfair and unjustified.
Though there are several imported missiles in the armed forces, I have however focused exclusively on the systems developed indigenously.
The task to develop several technologies was difficult for the Indian scientists as they did not have prior expertise, industrial infrastructure nor the production efficiency to develop high-tech machinery, components, subsystems and products. But with customary resolve they solved daunting problems successively and developed truly world class products for the armed forces. Over the past decade development of critical technologies has been accomplished on a trial and error basis, similar to the proven model of repetitive testing adopted by the erstwhile Soviet space and defense scientists to prove the efficacy of new technologies. Therefore, delivery schedules of some final products has suffered to reach the end-users on time and as a result DRDO and its related agencies have invited considerable flak. However, in most of the cases the rebukes are rather unmindful, unfair and unjustified.
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SHORT RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILES
Images: DRDO
PRITHVI-I
Prithvi-I "Earth" in Sanskrit is a theater class short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propelled ballistic missile with two motors clustered next to each other as a single stage configuration. Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the IGMDP. It has a warhead mounting capability of 1,000 kg and a range of 150 km. It has an accuracy of 10 – 50 meters and can be launched from a transporter erector launcher. It was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994. This missile will be phased out once the more capable and accurate Prahar missile completes its development process. The Prithvi-I will be later upgraded and used for longer ranges.
Prithvi-I "Earth" in Sanskrit is a theater class short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propelled ballistic missile with two motors clustered next to each other as a single stage configuration. Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the IGMDP. It has a warhead mounting capability of 1,000 kg and a range of 150 km. It has an accuracy of 10 – 50 meters and can be launched from a transporter erector launcher. It was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994. This missile will be phased out once the more capable and accurate Prahar missile completes its development process. The Prithvi-I will be later upgraded and used for longer ranges.
