Bhubaneswar: While India has become the 4th country globally to develop the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), experts have opined that India should rapidly weaponize the technology in view of the current security scenario.
Strategic expert Brahma Chellaney has said that India should shed its defensive mindset, especially after the aggression of China and start weaponizing its technological capability.
“India has a record of demonstrating an advanced capability and not weaponizing it for long. India took almost 25 years to go nuclear after conducting a nuclear test. Its anti-satellite (ASAT) test was delayed by several years because the previous government declined to permit it. Hypersonics can help to deter aggression. India needs to build on today’s successful test by rapidly weaponizing that capability. It needs to come out of its passive-defensive mindset, especially after the aggression of China, which has developed a hypersonic anti-ship platform” he twitted.
India has a record of demonstrating an advanced capability and not weaponizing it for long. India took almost 25 years to go nuclear after conducting a nuclear test. Its anti-satellite (ASAT) test was delayed by several years because the previous government declined to permit it.
— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) September 7, 2020
Yesterday, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired the Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV) from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. With this India has become the 4th nation after the USA, Russia and China to have the capability. Hypersonic Cruise Missiles destroy their targets without carrying an explosive warhead, and there is no defence against them.
Last year India successfully conducted the Anti-Satellite Test (ASAT), almost one decade after acquiring the capacity.