India test fires nuclear capable missile ...one eye on China , another eye on Pakistan.....

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-15/india-test-fires-nuclear-capable-missile

India Test Fires Nuclear-Capable Missile

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 09/15/2013 10:09 -0400

• China
 
• France
 
• India
 
• Israel
 
• Reuters

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With global trigger-finger tensions still running on full blast following the recent Syrian near-war episode, the last thing the jittery world needed is yet another "test fire" of a very lethal weapon, yet that is precisely what it got just after 8:40 am on Sunday when India test fired a nuclear-capable missile, with a range of 5,000 km, capable of reaching Beijing and Europe, bringing it a step closer to production of a nuclear deterrence agent.

Agni-V is about 2,500 km short of being called an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), as the world recognised range for an ICBM is over 7,500 km. Agni-V would also carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads being concurrently developed. A single MIRVed missile can deliver multiple warheads at different targets.

Why is India doing this now is unclear, although it has been suggested that India is merely trying to keep up with China's growth military strength and "wants to have a viable deterrent against its larger nuclear-armed neighbor." It is also a move targeting the rapidly growing nuclear arsenal of Pakistan, which has been increasing its inventory of nuclear warheads and developing short-range, tactical nuclear weapons, raising concern about an escalating South Asian arms race, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Thursday. The think-tank said in a report the race with Pakistan was increasing the risk of a nuclear exchange during a conventional conflict, perhaps sparked by an act of terrorism. Or a false flag act perhaps?

From Reuters:

"The test was successful," said Ravi Kumar Gupta, spokesman for the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). "It hit the target in a predefined trajectory. It met all the mission objectives"

[India and China] have generally warm relations, but they fought a brief Himalayan war in 1962 and a buildup of conventional defenses along their disputed border is a source of tension.

The Agni-V is the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni, or Fire, series, part of a program that started in the 1960s. Earlier versions could reach old rival Pakistan and western China.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is increasing its arsenal of nuclear warheads and developing short-range, tactical nuclear weapons, raising concern about an escalating South Asian arms race, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said on Thursday.

The Agni-V missile was first tested in April 2012. It is mostly domestically built and has a range of about 5,000 km (3,100 miles). Only the U.N. Security Council permanent members - China, France, Russia the United States and Britain - along with Israel, are believed to have such long-range weapons.

Gupta said India was now ready to start a process of production and subsequent induction of the missile.

A summary of the missile's capabilities:

The video evidence:

http://rt.com/news/india-tests-nuclear-missile-882/

India has conducted a second test firing of a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers. New Delhi is struggling to challenge Beijing in the race for missile dominance in Asia.

"The country has established ICBM capability with the successful second test," said Avinash Chander, a scientific advisor to Defense Minister AV Antony, adding that the next launch would be canister-based.

'Agni-V' long-range ballistic missiles are about 17 meters long, with a diameter of 2 meters and a launch weight of about 50 tons, The Indian Express reported. It can carry a nuclear warhead of over 1 ton.

The missile was test-fired from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. Missile scientist and 'Agni 5' chief designer V.G. Sekaran said the test was an "overwhelming success and showed the reliability and maturity of the sub-systems," the Hindu newspaper reported.

Only Russia, the US, China, France and Britain, reportedly along with Israel, which has never officially admitted to having an nuclear arsenal of its own, are believed to have such long-range weapons.

The three-stage solid propellant missile was first successfully tested in April last year. Agni-V boasts a state-of-the-art Micro Navigation System, enabling the missile to hit the target to within a few meters. 

According to the spokesman for India’s Defence Research and Development Organization, Ravi Gupta, the missile will be included in the Indian Army’s arsenal by 2014-15. "It hit the target in a predefined trajectory. It met all the mission objectives," he said. 

Missile Agni V is displayed during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2013.(AFP Photo / Raveendran)

China has the world’s second-largest military budget behind the US, and is far ahead of India in nuclear weaponry, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in India.

The Agni-V may be India'a answer to China's nuclear buildup. Earlier versions of its missiles could reach only old Pakistan and western China.

Last year, China expanded its nuclear weapons arsenal, allegedly adding an estimated 10 warheads to its inventory. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China currently has some 250 nuclear missiles, while Pakistan holds between 100 and 120 missiles and India has between 90 and 110.

“We have always kept our nuclear capability at the lowest level commensurate with the need for national security,” Hong Lei, a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, said at a briefing in Beijing in June. “China hopes the outside world does not make groundless speculation about China’s limited nuclear capability.”

China, India and Pakistan appear to be the only countries currently expanding their nuclear arsenals.

The total number of nuclear missiles globally is estimated to have fallen from about 19,000 at the end of 2011 to about 17,265 warheads at the end of last year, thanks to the US and Russia reducing their stockpiles under bilateral arms control agreements, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. Russia is believed to possess the largest inventory, with 8,500 warheads, just a little ahead of the 7,700 held by the US.