Sky's the limit

The Indian Express

Tue, Feb 16 06:28 AM

Beijing's dismissal of the DRDO's claims that its missile technology is superior to that of China might provoke knee-jerk patriotism in Delhi. But no one in the world disputes that China is way ahead of India in missilery and military uses of space.

By transferring missiles and their production technology, China has also put Pakistan ahead of India. Instead of acknowledging the reality and redoubling the effort to catch up, the DRDO is making extravagant claims. Take, for example, its head V.K. Saraswat's claim that the Agni-III, with its 3000 km range, is ready for "induction" by the services.

A weapons system inducted after just four tests including one failure? This is the kind of sanctimonious self-congratulation that the DRDO has doled out for decades. Because they wrap themselves in the flag, we are not supposed to ask questions, only clap. Saraswat has claimed that "there is no need to produce and store missiles in today's world". Really? China has more than 1000 missiles pointed at Taiwan; and is producing and deploying missiles in scores every year.

This could be ignored but for the fact that it has begun to create diplomatic problems for India. Take the claim that India is developing anti-satellite weapons. Here he is talking about a weapon system that does not exist; and the Chinese have conducted ASAT weapon tests in 2007 and 2010 without making any claims in advance. Did he have the political clearance to say this?

Did he consult the foreign office which is campaigning in Geneva against an "arms race" in outer space? Even bolder is talk of targets for Agni-III in China and Pakistan. Since when has it become the DRDO's responsibility to decide on nuclear targeting? One had assumed that was the job of the nuclear command authority under the prime minister.

Meanwhile, the ministry of defence appears to have no oversight of the DRDO and the minister, A.K. Antony, seems out of the loop. Speaking at a conference in Delhi last week, Antony thundered against the "militarisation of space". Has anyone informed the poor minister that space has been "militarised" for decades? The international debate today is about deploying weapons in space.

While the minister of defence makes banal statements, his scientific adviser is boasting about space weapons. Why Delhi, which claims to be a responsible nuclear power, allows this dangerous drift at the MOD and DRDO is one of those known unknowns in Delhi.