BMD Watch: Indians Play Down Pak Missile

MISSILE DEFENSE

Pakistan's Ground Launched Cruise Missile "Babur" (Hatf VII ) being launched from an undisclosed location heading towards its pre-designated target. Photo courtesy: PakTribune.

by Martin Sieff
UPI Senior News Analyst
Washington (UPI) Aug 25, 2005
A senior Indian defense official has said the new cruise missile Pakistan test fired successfully with much fanfare earlier this month was not as impressive as it seemed at the time.

The Hatf-VII Babur cruise missile fired Aug 11 was subsonic and not a supersonic missile, he said at the Indian high-tech center of Bangalore.

"What our neighboring country has built is a subsonic and not a supersonic missile. As per my knowledge, the cruise missile tested by Pakistan recently is a subsonic one unlike our Brahmos supersonic cruise missile."

M. Natarajan, a scientific adviser to India's defense minister, made the remark while delivering the 21st Brahm Prakash Memorial Lecture at the Indian Institute of Science, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

The ground-launched cruise missile Hatf-VII remains a formidable weapon for Pakistan. It can carry nuclear and conventional warheads with a range of 300 miles. Pakistan claimed it had joined a select group of countries that have the capability to design and develop cruise missiles.

"As I understand, the Pakistani missile was tested with the help of another country," Natarajan said in an oblique reference to China.

India successfully test-fired its own Brahmos cruise missile in 2003 at a speed of 2.8 mach, but with a shorter range of 175 miles. The supersonic cruise missile was developed as an India-Russia 50-50 joint venture and named after the Bramhmaputra and Moscow rivers.

"Brahmos is already in the production phase. The Indian Navy has placed an order for 18 cruise missiles. We are in the process of selling its concept to the army, as it can also be launched from land, Natarajan said later in comments to reporters quoted by IANS. "At the design level, we are looking at the possibility of using it for the air force too."

The slower Pakistani cruise missile, therefore, is likely to be much vulnerable to being intercepted and shot down by Indian air defenses than India's own Brahmos.

All rights reserved. � 2005 United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of United Press International.

MISSILE DEFENSE

BMD Focus: US, China Duel In South Asia

Washington (UPI) Aug 23, 2005
The South Asian nuclear arms race, one of the most potentially unstable and dangerous on the planet, has gone global.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.