One of the leading Indian newspapers recently said China is wary of India's Agni V long range missile
Recently I happened to read a headline in one of the leading newspapers that China is wary of the Agni V missile, which prompted me to write this piece. The whole campaign appeared funny to me. I wonder how many of the well-educated 'global' Indians out there are ready to buy this claim. Do we really think a superior-ranged nuclear-capable missile is going to compensate for a brittle backbone? Does China, being one of the few firm-spined Asian countries who have shown the courage to dismiss the US big brother status openly, even consider India as a formidable opponent when it comes to military might? Economically, India could be as vibrant and resilient as China, but please do not even claim to be close to China in military might. And never forget that while our first 'indigenous' fighter aircraft flew with a GE F404 engine, almost 20 years on the drawing board, China perfected their technology long back to design their own aircraft, submarines and ICBMs.
The question is why do we need to brag about a re-invented, partially-developed technology so much? We saw this happening in the case of Arjun tanks, LCA Tejas, Kaveri engine, INS Arihant and many others. And the most irritating fact is that three of them were marred by several technical glitches, forcing the armed forces to hunt for more advanced equipment from the international market—and the fourth one is still undergoing sea trials. There is no doubt that the SSBN Arihant is a formidable weapon for its agility, but how much longer will it take to make it a perfect second strike vessel? And what will happen if something goes wrong during the sea trials? How long will it take for us to rebuild a similar vessel? And how are we going to compensate for the short range of the Sagarika missiles expected to be on board?
Come on India, we are living in the age of stealth ships and aircraft, supercavitating missiles, predator drones and anti-missile defence. Going by the pace of technological development in India, we the common people are concerned that by the time we develop these technologies, the rest of the world would have gone a long way ahead. Or are we waiting for the rest of the world to hit a concrete wall so that we can catch up with them?
Recently I happened to read a headline in one of the leading newspapers that China is wary of the Agni V missile, which prompted me to write this piece. The whole campaign appeared funny to me. I wonder how many of the well-educated 'global' Indians out there are ready to buy this claim. Do we really think a superior-ranged nuclear-capable missile is going to compensate for a brittle backbone? Does China, being one of the few firm-spined Asian countries who have shown the courage to dismiss the US big brother status openly, even consider India as a formidable opponent when it comes to military might? Economically, India could be as vibrant and resilient as China, but please do not even claim to be close to China in military might. And never forget that while our first 'indigenous' fighter aircraft flew with a GE F404 engine, almost 20 years on the drawing board, China perfected their technology long back to design their own aircraft, submarines and ICBMs.
The question is why do we need to brag about a re-invented, partially-developed technology so much? We saw this happening in the case of Arjun tanks, LCA Tejas, Kaveri engine, INS Arihant and many others. And the most irritating fact is that three of them were marred by several technical glitches, forcing the armed forces to hunt for more advanced equipment from the international market—and the fourth one is still undergoing sea trials. There is no doubt that the SSBN Arihant is a formidable weapon for its agility, but how much longer will it take to make it a perfect second strike vessel? And what will happen if something goes wrong during the sea trials? How long will it take for us to rebuild a similar vessel? And how are we going to compensate for the short range of the Sagarika missiles expected to be on board?
Come on India, we are living in the age of stealth ships and aircraft, supercavitating missiles, predator drones and anti-missile defence. Going by the pace of technological development in India, we the common people are concerned that by the time we develop these technologies, the rest of the world would have gone a long way ahead. Or are we waiting for the rest of the world to hit a concrete wall so that we can catch up with them?
Well, this is not the first time one has stumbled upon the Indian Superiority Theory. Does it reminds me of the Ostritch Denial Syndrome?
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