Army takes its Agni and the nuclear edge

Lending more meat to its second-strike capability, the Government has cleared the raising of two nuclear-capable strategic Agni missile unit...

Lending more meat to its second-strike capability, the Government has cleared the raising of two nuclear-capable strategic Agni missile units and the immediate deployment of the short and long-range versions.

In addition to the Agni missile groups, the Army will add two more Prithvi missile groups which will be armed with conventional warheads, South Block sources confirmed today.

Cleared by the CCS, the regiments will be named as rocket groups 334 and 335, armed with the short range (700 km) and medium-range (1,500 km) variants of the Agni missile.

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Coming days after the Nuclear Command Authority met for the first time, the decision will add strategic depth to the country’s No-First-Use doctrine which depends on a credible second-strike capability as a deterrent. While finances are yet to be allocated, the Army has already earmarked additional manpower for the two new rocket groups, South Block sources said. Confirming the government’s clearance, an official Defence ministry spokesman said ‘‘the decision to raise two Agni-specific groups was taken sometime ago.’’

The Agni II is a two-stage solid propellant rocket motor with a strapdown inertial navigation system and has achieved a range of 2,000 km, carrying a 1,000 kg warhead. The missiles can be deployed both by rail as well as road, making them difficult to be located by hostile radars.

In fact Defence minister George Fernandes, in a written reply in Parliament, had stated that the Government had cleared the induction of both variants of the Agni missile.

While South Block officials were tightlipped on the issue, the two new Agni missile groups could be deployed in Madhya Pradesh as a strategic decision. This will be in keeping with the location of the Strategic Forces Command, formed a year ago, and is expected to be based at a location away from New Delhi. The Mirage-2000 squadrons, capable of carrying strategic weapons, also operate out of Gwalior for similar reasons. The new Prithvi missile groups, likely to be named 444 and 555, will be in keeping with the existing missile groups 222 and 333. They are likely to be operational by 2005 and, like the Agni missile group, will be raised near Secunderabad where Bharat Dynamics, the missile manufacturer, is located.

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The new Prithvi missile will be a solid-propellant variant, a significant jump from the liquid propellant version already inducted. This provides greater flexibility in deploying the new missiles, say sources. While the Prithvi can carry up to a 1,000 kg payload, it’s learnt that it will be used as a conventional weapon while the Agni will have a strategic role.