Page 23 - ADT NOV - DEC 2024 Digital Magazine | GBP
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STRIKE FORCE
India emerges as a surprise entrant to the hypersonic weapons club
By ATUL CHANDRA
Reprentative image
I n what was an unexpected hypersonic cruise missiles and East Coast and the missile was
hypersonic glide vehicles pose a
announcement this November,
tracked by various range systems,
India’s Ministry of Defence
tion of Air Defence networks, which
along with the data obtained from
(MoD) announced it had success- real threat to the current genera- deployed in multiple domains and
fully conducted the maiden test were not designed to cater for such down range ship stations, confirmed
flight of the nation’s first long-range threats. As a result, hypersonic the successful terminal manoeuvres
hypersonic missile. The Indian weapons remain a prized capabil- and impact of the hypersonic mis-
announcement of a hypersonic ity for their ability to overcome AD sile with high degree of accuracy.
missile development caps off a long networks. An Indian MoD spokes- India’s Defence Minister Rajnath
list of successes in the nation’s person, in a statement said that Singh described the flight-trial as
missile development history. In the new Indian hypersonic mis- a historic achievement which has
addition to the new develop- sile is designed to carry various put India in the group of select
ment of a hypersonic weapon, payloads to ranges greater than nations having capabilities of
India has also developed a wide 1,500 kms. This indicates that such critical and advanced mili-
range of indigenously developed different types of warheads will be tary technologies, in a post on X.
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles developed for this weapon. The
(ICBM), Intermediate Ballistic announced range of 1,500 km also As per present plans the newly
Missiles (ICBM), cruise missiles, provides the Indian armed forces developed hypersonic weapon will
guided missiles and long-range with the ability to strike deep into be inducted into all three armed
unguided rockets. enemy territory. forces, however, operational induc-
tion of this new weapon into the
Deep Impact The hypersonic test was conducted Indian armed forces before the
end of the decade is unlikely. The
from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island
Manoeuvring ballistic missiles, off the coast of Odisha on India’s hypersonic weapon has been
ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2024 | 23
