Indian Nuclear Sub Carried Out A Successful Test Of A Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) On Friday

India's sub-surface ballistic nuclear submarine INS Arihant. Reuters  

DW: India's nuclear submarine Arihant successfully test-fires missile 

The test launch of a ballistic missile from nuclear submarine INS Arihant makes India the sixth country which can conduct nuclear strikes and counterstrikes on land, sea and air. 

India fired a ballistic missile from its first nuclear submarine INS Arihant, with the projectile hitting the target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy, the Indian defense ministry said on Friday. 

The successful launch of the Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) by INS Arihant is ''significant to prove crew competency and validate'' ballistic missiles which is ''a key element of India's nuclear deterrence capability,'' the defense added.  

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Indian Nuclear Sub Carried Out A Successful Test Of A Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) On Friday  

Nuclear-powered INS Arihant carries out successful launch of SLBM -- Indian Express 

India tests N-missile from submarine for 'assured retaliatory capability' and strategic deterrence -- Times of India 

India fires ballistic missile from INS Arihant, India’s first home made nuclear submarine -- WION

Indian SSBN INS Arihant Fires Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile -- Naval News 

India says submarine-launched ballistic missile test a success -- Al Jazeera  

Indian nuclear sub test-fires missile -- RT  

Deterrence messaging behind INS Arihant’s N-missile launch -- Hindustan Times

India Does Its First Night Time Test Firing Of Its Nuclear Capable Intermediate- Range Missile Agni-III

NDTV: First Night Trial Of Agni-III Missile Held At Abdul Kalam Island

The flight test of the intermediate-range missile, which has a strike range of over 3,500 km, was part of a user trial by the Army, the sources said.

Balasore (Odisha):The first night trial of the nuclear-capable Agni-III surface-to-surface ballistic missile was carried out from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range at the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast on Saturday, Defence sources said.

The trajectory of the missile is being monitored and the outcome of the trial is awaited, the sources said.

The flight test of the intermediate-range missile, which has a strike range of over 3,500 km, was part of a user trial by the Army, the sources said.

The missile, which has a length of 17 m, the diameter of 2m and launches weight of around 50 tonnes, has been already inducted into the armed forces, the Defence sources said.

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WNU Editor: The test was a failure .... Nuclear capable Agni-III missile fails in maiden night trial (New Indian Express).

More News On India Conducting Its First Night Trial Of Its Nuclear-Capable Agni-III Missile

India Conducts Maiden Night Trial of Nuke-Capable Agni-III Missile -- Sputnik
India conducts first night trial of nuclear-capable Agni-III missile -- Zee News
India Test Fires Nuke-Capable Missile Amid "Israeli Model" For Kashmir Controversy -- Zero Hedge

India's Nuclear Weapons Arsenal Keeps On Getting Bigger

Reuters

Michale Peck, National Interest: India's Nuclear Weapons Arsenal Keeps Getting Bigger and Bigger

A large arsenal in a dangerous part of the world.

Key Point: India has its nukes pointed at China and Pakistan, two other nuclear powers.

“India is estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced only 130 to 140,” according to Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. “Nonetheless, additional plutonium will be required to produce warheads for missiles now under development, and India is reportedly building several new plutonium production facilities.”

In addition, “India continues to modernize its nuclear arsenal, with at least five new weapon systems now under development to complement or replace existing nuclear-capable aircraft, land-based delivery systems, and sea-based systems.”

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WNU Editor: India is facing two nuclear adversaries, so I do understand why they have nuclear weapons. But I am surprised that their nuclear arsenal is small .... around 130 to 140 weapons.

India Has 140 Nuclear Warheads And It Wants More

An Indian Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile on a road-mobile launcher, displayed at the Republic Day Parade on New Delhi's Rajpath, January 26, 2004. Wikipedia

Michael Peck, National Interest: India has 140 Nuclear Warheads – And More Are Coming

Should we worry?

India has 130 to 140 nuclear warheads—and more are coming, according to a new report.

“India is estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced only 130 to 140,” according to Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. “Nonetheless, additional plutonium will be required to produce warheads for missiles now under development, and India is reportedly building several new plutonium production facilities.”

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WNU Editor: More signs that Asia is on the cusp of a nuclear arms race.

India And Pakistan Now Want To Arm Their Navy With Nuclear Weapons

Tom Hundley, VOX: India and Pakistan are quietly making nuclear war more like

Both countries are arming their submarines with nukes.

KARACHI, Pakistan — The Karachi Naval Dockyard, home port and strategic nerve center for Pakistan’s fleet, sits on a sliver of land bracketed between Port Grand, a “family fun” pier that features kiddie rides and a panoramic view of warships at anchor, and Machar Colony, a sprawling slum where cattle graze on garbage and a million human inhabitants live in nearly unimaginable squalor.

It was here, during the quiet predawn of May 6, 2014, that four rogue naval officers walked up the gangway of the PNS Zulfiqar, a 4,000-ton frigate that was preparing to put to sea. A guard inspected their ID badges and saluted. Once on board, their plan was to join up with another group of six militants disguised in marine uniforms who were approaching the Zulfiqar in an inflatable dinghy. Together they hoped to hijack the ship and use it to attack a US Navy patrol in the Indian Ocean.

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WNU Editor: What can one say .... nuclear proliferation in one of the world's danger spots.

India Successfully Conducts Fifth Test of Nuclear-Capable ICBM

VOA: India Conducts Fifth Test of Nuclear-Capable ICBM

NEW DELHI — India conducted the fifth test of its nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odhisa’s coast in the east.

The country’s most advanced missile, the Agni V, has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers, and will bring all of China within range when it is inducted into the armed forces.

"We have successfully launched nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-V today,” Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The Defense Ministry called the test a "major boost" to the country's defense capabilities.

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More News On India Successfully Conducting A Fifth Test Of It's Nuclear-Capable ICBM

India test-fires nuclear-capable ICBM Agni-V -- Times of India
India Tests Ballistic Missile, Posing New Threat to China -- New York Times
India successfully tests nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, risking anger from Pakistan and China -- Daily Mail
India tests-fires Agni-V, a nuclear-capable ICBM -- CNN
India successfully test-fires a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile -- CNBC

Is India Shifting Its Nuclear Doctrine To Face China Over Pakistan?

The report by the US experts states that the two-stage, solid-fuel, rail-mobile Agni-2 missile is probably targeted at western, central, and southern regions of China

DW: Is India turning its nuclear focus toward China?

India's nuclear policy is now believed to be placing a greater emphasis on China instead of focusing on archrival Pakistan. But this is not to be mistaken as a shift in the nation's nuclear doctrine, say experts.

A recent report by two top American experts that India's nuclear strategy is targeting China has drawn mixed responses from Indian experts and academics who maintain there is no cause for alarm about the country's nuclear position despite the changing geopolitical situation.

Published in the July-August issue of the digital journal After Midnight, the article claimed that India is busy developing a missile, which can target all of China from its bases located in southern India.

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Update: India modernising nuclear arsenal with eye on China: US experts (Times of India/PTI)

WNU Editor: Recent border disputes have only intensified the sour relationship that exists between the two countries. And while I believe India'd nuclear policy will always be focused on Pakistan .... and China's policy will be to get India on board with it's Silk Road project .... we do have a situation where China is expanding its military footprint near the Indian border, and India is developing missiles that can reach deep into China.

India's First Nuclear-Armed Submarine Is Completing Its Final Trials

INS Arihant during sea trials, December 2014 NDTV/Wikimedia Commons

Samuel Osborne, Independent: INS Arihant: India nears completion of nuclear submarine 'Slayer of Enemies' - so what does it mean for the world?

The submarine will complete India's nuclear triad, allowing it to launch atomic weapons from land, sea and air

India is conducting the final trials of its first nuclear-armed submarine, which would make it the sixth country in the world to possess a vessel capable of launching nuclear warheads from underwater.

When deployed, the submarine will complete India's nuclear triad - allowing it to launch atomic weapons from land, sea and air.

What is the INS Arihant?

The 6,000-ton, 110-metre-long INS Arihant (the Sanskrit name meaning "Slayer of Enemies") has been developed over the last three decades under a secret government program.

First sanctioned in 1970, the project was approved in 1984 and work began in 1998.

It is currently completing its final trials in the Bay of Bengal, having passed several deep sea diving drills as well as weapons tests over the past five months, an official told The Economic Times.

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WNU Editor: This is a huge advance for India's nuclear forces.

Foreign Policy Magazine: India Has A Secret Thermonuclear Weapons Program

An Indian Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile on a road-mobile launcher, displayed at the Republic Day Parade on New Delhi's Rajpath, January 26, 2004. Wikipedia

RYOT: India’s New Secret Nuclear Facility Risks Military Build-Up in Asia

A recent report in Foreign Policy magazine claims that India is building a massive new nuclear research facility. The facility would also help produce fuel for the country’s nuclear submarines and reactors.

More troubling, the report claims that India will use the space to create an extra stockpile of enriched uranium fuel for use in nuclear weapons, particularly a powerful thermonuclear weapon.

If true, this revelation could spark fears in China and Pakistan, rivals in the region, wary of India’s secretive nuclear program.

The report says: “India’s close neighbors, China and Pakistan, would see this move as a provocation: Experts say they might respond by ratcheting up their own nuclear firepower.”

Pakistan’s estimated stockpile nuclear weapons is about 120, while China is said to possess about 260 nuclear warheads.

WNU Editor: For those who may not know .... thermonuclear weapons use atomic weapons as a trigger to produce a far greater explosion. The Foreign Policy article is here .... India Is Building a Top-Secret Nuclear City to Produce Thermonuclear Weapons, Experts Say (Foreign Policy). Whats my take .... if these reports are true, China and Pakistan will probably expand their nuclear weapons program.

More News On India's Nuclear Program

India building secret nuke facility, says magazine -- Hindustan Times
India building secret city to produce nuclear weapons reports US-based Foreign Policy magazine -- Indian Express
India building top secret nuclear facility in Karnataka, seeking to upgrade weapons to unsettle Pakistan -- Zee news
Experts worry that India is creating new fuel for an arsenal of H-bombs -- Center for Public Integrity

India Successfully Tests It's New Long-Range Agni-V Nuclear-Capable Missile

India Tests New, Long-Range Agni-V Nuclear-Capable Missile -- Deutsche Welle

India has hailed its second test launch of a long-range missile as a success, saying it "met all the mission objectives with absolute accuracy." Once ready, the Agni-V would stretch India's theoretical nuclear reach.

An Agni-V missile took off from a test range on Wheeler Island in eastern India on Sunday, clearing the way for continued testing and eventually production.

"The missile hit its target in the Indian Ocean in 20 minutes - all desired mission objectives of this developmental test were met," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesman Ravi Gupta said. The DRDO is a department for high-tech military developments.

The surface-to-surface Agni-V flew in a maiden test last April. Gupta said there would be four or five more trials, the first likely within three months, before the missile was put into production for military use. He said the DRDO was currently working on technology to hermetically seal the missile in a canister, increasing its shelf life and improving its mobility and launch time. "The next launch would be from a canister," Gupta said.

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More News On India Successfully Tested It's New Long-Range Agni-V Nuclear-Capable Missile

India successfully retests missile that can reach Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai -- Washington Post/AP
India tests nuclear capable missile with range as far as Beijing -- Reuters
India boosts nuclear arsenal with nuclear-capable missile test -- RT
India Conducts Second Test of Agni-5 Missile -- RIA Novosti
Agni-V missile successfully test launched from Wheeler Island off Odisha coast -- Times of India
India test-fires Agni V, the missile capable of reaching Chinese cities -- Hindustan Times
India successfully launches nuclear capable 'Agni-V' missile for second time -- Economic Times
Agni-5, India's most potent nuclear-capable ballistic missile, launched successfully -- NDTV
India successfully test fires nuclear-capable Agni V long range missile -- IBN Live

What About India's Nukes?

Don't Forget India's Nukes -- Jane Harman, L.A. Times

India has an explicitly stated no-first-use policy and is widely viewed as a U.S. security ally. But that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to India's actions.

"We urge all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities," a State Department spokesman said last month after India successfully blasted its new long-range Agni 5 missile into the Bay of Bengal. But he quickly softened the admonishment: "That said, India has a solid nonproliferation record."

Washington's oddly relaxed approach to India's nuclear program goes back to 2008, when Congress approved the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement. Under it, India agreed to separate its military and civil nuclear facilities and to place the latter under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards in exchange for a U.S. guarantee to work toward full civil nuclear cooperation with New Delhi.

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My Comment: Unfortunately .... I do not see countries like North Korea or Iran following the Indian model.

India's Newest ICBM Risks Asia's Delicate Weapons Balance

China In India's Missile Range -- Asia Sentinel

New Delhi risks upsetting Asia’s delicate weapons balance

Sometime over the next three months,perhaps as early as December, Indian defense officials are scheduled to test the country‘s first truly intercontinental ballistic missile, the Agni-V, which theoretically brings India’s weapons program within range of most of China.

Officials insist that India has a no-strike-first policy and that the weapons are no threat to any other country in the region. Said VK Saraswat, the chief of the Defense Research & Development Organization, the federal body that oversees the country’s indigenous arms development: “We are not looking at how many missiles China or Pakistan has. With a 'no first-use' nuclear weapons policy, we only want a sufficient number of missiles to defend the country in the event of a crisis. Ours is a defensive-mode strategy, even if others have offensive postures.”

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More News On India's Missile Test

Agni-I missile successfully test-fired off Odisha coast -- NDTV
Nuke-capable Agni-1 test-fired successfully -- Hindustan Times
India Fires Nuke-Ready Missile in Successful Trial -- Global Security Newswire
India Tests Nuke Missile With New Navigation -- Defense News
India successfully tests N-capable Agni-I missile -- Asian Age

In Response To China, India To Test New 5000-km Nuclear Missile

India To Test New 5000-km Nuclear Missile Within Year -- Reuters

NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Reuters) - India aims to test a new nuclear-capable missile with a 5000-km (3,100-mile) range, a top military scientist said on Wednesday, a move that could complicate security in a volatile region.

The missile would effectively bring most of China within India's range, as well as more potential targets to the west and east than its existing weaponry.

"Agni-V is out of the drawing board. We are aiming for a flight trial within a year," V.K. Saraswat, India's chief military scientist told reporters.

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More News On India's Newest Long Range Nuclear Missile

India will test 5,000-km-range nuclear-capable missile -- AFP
DRDO raises the bar, sets its sights on 5,000-km Agni-V -- Hindu
India ready to testfire 5,000km range Agni-V within a year -- DNA India
5,000-km range Agni-V to be tested in a year: DRDO -- Sify News
India 'tests nuclear-capable missile' -- AFP
India missile ready for army use -- BBC
The China Solution (for India) -- Strategy Page

Is India Going To Break Its Nuclear Agreements?

Key Indian Figures Call for New Nuclear Tests Despite Deal With U.S. -- Washington Post

Scientists Break With Prime Minister Even as Test-Ban Effort Gains Steam.

NEW DELHI -- A little more than a year after India and the United States signed a historic civilian agreement lifting a 30-year ban on nuclear trade, some former top nuclear scientists here are arguing that India needs to conduct another weapons test.

The move would undoubtedly alarm nonproliferation advocates but would be needed for India to master the weapon and to ensure that it has a "credible nuclear deterrent" in its arsenal, according to two retired nuclear scientists.

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My Comment: The advocates for a resumption of nuclear testing are in the minority .... for now. But this may change radically if the situation in Pakistan becomes more unstable, or if neighboring countries like Iran start conducting nuclear tests.

India Raises Nuclear Stakes

(Click Image to Enlarge)

India's Nuclear Installations

From The Financial Times:

India can now build nuclear weapons with the same destructive power as those in the arsenals of the world’s major nuclear powers, according to New Delhi’s senior atomic officials.

They said India had built weapons with yields of up to 200 kilotons, which would be considered a “proper strategic deterrent” by the global community. A nuclear weapon above 50 kilotons is considered high yield. India’s enhanced capability gives it a considerable edge over Pakistan, its nuclear-armed arch-rival.

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My Comment: It seems that India is now looking at China when it comes to nuclear forces .... not Pakistan .... as the long term threat. Unfortunately, Pakistan will be seeing this as a threat directed against them, and will respond in kind.

Is there a possibility of an arms race in South West Asia .... from where I am standing it sounds like it just started.