With the 3,500-km range Agni-III missile expected to be test-fired this year, New Delhi is in the process of fine-tuning its nuclear posture towards its regional rivals. At the same time, it is planning to fill up its atomic quiver by raising another Prithvi missile as well as induct the 800-km range Agni missile by the end of the next fiscal year.According to highly-placed sources, while India intends to adopt a ‘‘credible deterrence’’ posture towards Pakistan, it has no plans of matching up to the superior Chinese nuclear arsenal. New Delhi, in fact, is in favour of a ‘‘dissuasive posture’’ towards China that would essentially make Beijing think twice before deploying nuclear assets against India. However, the strategic planners are clear that this ‘‘dissuasive’’ posture may not be able to blunt Beijing’s nuclear plans for India.New Delhi’s logic is different when it comes to Pakistan, which has time and again threatened to use nukes against India. Security planners stress on building up delivery systems that would put the fear of India’s retaliatory capability into Islamabad.It is understood that the process of raising the second Prithvi missile group, called 334, has already begun in the military establishment. Just as the 333 Prithvi missile group, the new group will be based in Hyderabad and will have 12 missile launchers. Both the groups will have a mixture of 150 km range and 250 km range Prithvi missiles that will ultimately be integrated into the newly formed Strategic Force Command. The 334 group, which is expected to have a core of 300-400 tech-savvy personnel, is expected to be ready by the 2003-end.The exercise of inducting the Agni-I missile has also begun. This single-stage, solid fuel and highly mobile missile has what’s known as a ‘low ground signature’ — which means that the missile will be difficult to detect since it emits less heat during take-off. This enhances the missile’s shelf life, a factor critical to India’s no first use doctrine. The 15.3-metre long, single-warhead and 12,300-kg heavy weapon has lesser re-entry velocity compared to its adversaries which gives its more room for terminal manoeuvring.During the January 9 test, Agni-I was handled and fired by a core group of 25 personnel from the Indian artillery under the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s supervision. However, according to the plans, all the nuclear assets including those delivered from air and sea will come under the Strategic Force Command. While India is still to develop the sea-based retaliatory capability, the exercise of modifying the Mirage-200H flights and SU-30 MKI for nuclear delivery has already begun.Sources said that Agni-I missile group, which is likely to be based again in Hyderabad, should come up by 2003-2004. V.K. Atre, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, has gone on record to say that the medium range missile was on the verge of induction and there were no plans for any further tests. The intermediate range Agni II and the long range Agni III missiles are scheduled to be inducted by the end of the current 10th five-year plan. Otherwise, as it happened during Operation Parakram, India will have to rely on the air force for its second strike capability.
