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Amid border standoff with China, GoI okays induction of nuke-capable Shaurya missile

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New Delhi: Amid the border standoff with China, the Narendra Modi led government of India has quietly approved induction and deployment of 700-km range surface-to-surface supersonic Shaurya strategic missile.

The forward movement, according to a report by Hindustan Times, has been recorded in the development of 5,000 km range K-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

According to the report, Shaurya is the land version of the submarine-launched BA-05 missile and has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The land version was discreetly tested for the final time before induction as part of user trials in Odisha’s Balasore on October 3.

Quoting top missile experts, the report said that Shaurya is a delivery system stored in a composite canister for rapid deployment and minimum interaction with the elements for a long period. The strategic missile flies at a supersonic speed of Mach 7, or 2.4 km per second, at a height of 50 km (within the atmosphere) and hits the designated target at Mach 4.

The report added that missile will be soon deployed at locations identified by the Indian Strategic Forces Command under guidance from National Security Council. It has a warhead weighing around 160 kg.

Pertinently, the DRDO is also making rapid strides in the development of a 5,000 km version of the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

The report also mentioned that with a range equivalent to Agni-5 land-based ballistic missile, the K-5 will be deployed on Arihant class of nuclear submarines.

ALSO READ: Amid ‘disengagement’ claims meetings between India-China yield no results

Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army heavily deployed its troops along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh’s Chushul district, which was followed by Indian Army changing its positions from “border management” to “border securing,” a Hindustan Times report read.

China has been deploying fighter and bomber aircraft to its bases in Tibet ever since tension over Ladakh started rising in May, The Week reported.

Earlier, China demanded that India withdraw its armed forces personnel from China-India border in order to avoid escalation of tensions.

China has reportedly built surface-to-air missiles near a lake, which is a part of the Kailash-Mansarovar.

On August, 31, Indian army informed that Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” near Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, and they were blocked by the Indian armed forces personnel manning the area, the government said.

A Brigade Commander level Flag Meeting was later held at Chushul to resolve the issues, as per the Government of India situation update.

As New Delhi claims that both India and China will “continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement” of armed forces personnel, talks aimed at resolving the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, has so far yielded no results.

A Chinese diplomat reacting to the standoff in Ladakh had said that the move is linked to the Indian government’s unilateral decision to scrap Article 370 in August last year.

The move changed the laws that prohibited Indians from buying land in Kashmir, and made the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir defunct, triggering fears of demographic change in the Muslim majority region of Kashmir.

When India scrapped Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 last year, the Chinese foreign ministry had issued two statements criticising the development, including one that focused on the splitting of the state into union territories.

This statement, while urging India to be “cautious” on the border issue and to avoid “actions that further complicate the border issue”, said: “China has always opposed India’s inclusion of Chinese territory in India’s administrative jurisdiction in the western part of the Sino-Indian border.”

This was a reference to the area in Ladakh that New Delhi claims but is controlled by Beijing.

 

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