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News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Modi's Iron Shield: The Vision Behind Bharat's Ballistic Missile Defence
Last Updated: Pakistan continues to view India as an existential threat and is expanding its nuclear arsenal accordingly, whilst simultaneously deepening its military relationship with China. When Pakistan's waves of missiles and drones crashed against India's multi-layered air defence systems during those crucial nights in May, they were met with India's air defence network, which comprehensively neutralised the targets. With its resounding success, India demonstrated to the world not merely our tactical prowess, but the transformation that has unfolded under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. Pakistan's drones and missiles shattered against a vision that has redefined how India approaches national security in an increasingly volatile neighbourhood. The operation marked a watershed moment: the successful test of an indigenous ballistic missile defence ecosystem that has taken India decisively beyond outdated Cold War nuclear doctrines of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) toward a more secure and responsible future. For decades, strategic thinking regarding Nuclear armaments and use was dominated by the Cold War logic of MAD. As a nation committed to a No First Use nuclear policy, India must, by definition, be prepared to absorb a first strike before retaliating. However, the hostile environment that India confronts today is markedly more complex and dangerous than at any point since independence. Pakistan continues to view India as an existential threat and is expanding its nuclear arsenal accordingly, whilst simultaneously deepening its military relationship with China. The United States Defence Intelligence Agency's 2025 assessment reveals that Pakistan is modernising its nuclear capabilities with substantial Chinese assistance, particularly focusing on battlefield nuclear weapons designed to offset India's conventional military superiority. During the recent crisis, Pakistan's ambassador to Russia explicitly threatened the use of 'the full spectrum of power, both conventional and nuclear" in response to any Indian military action. Such nuclear blackmail represents precisely the kind of coercive diplomacy that ballistic missile defence systems are designed to neutralise. The very fact that Pakistan felt compelled to convene its National Command Authority—which oversees the country's nuclear arsenal—during the crisis demonstrates how atomic weapons remain central to Islamabad's strategic calculus. China's role as the primary enabler of Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction programmes adds another layer of complexity. Foreign materials and technology supporting Pakistan's WMD capabilities are acquired primarily from Chinese suppliers, often transshipped through intermediaries. This creates a dangerous convergence where Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons, enabled by Chinese technology, pose an immediate threat to India's security infrastructure. The China Factor The relationship between China and India has evolved from mere border disputes to a comprehensive rivalry encompassing nuclear capabilities. China's nuclear modernisation programme, whilst ostensibly directed at the United States, poses a direct threat to India given the geographical intimacy of the subcontinent. The majority of Chinese nuclear-capable missiles cannot reach the American mainland but could easily strike Indian population centres. China's ballistic missile defence capabilities add urgency to India's programme. The People's Republic of China has developed advanced systems, including the HQ-19 and HQ-29, which significantly enhance the People's Liberation Army's capabilities to protect Chinese critical infrastructure. China's BMD capabilities serve as a strong defensive shield against nuclear-armed missile attacks, potentially neutralising India's deterrent capability. This creates a dangerous imbalance, giving China a significant damage-limitation capability and lowering the threshold for nuclear adventurism. In the 21st century, true deterrence requires not just the promise of punishment but the capacity for survival. The triangular nuclear dynamic between China, India, and Pakistan arguably poses a more serious threat of nuclear conflict than any other regional arrangement globally. South Asia remains the only place in the world where three nuclear-armed nations sit in such proximity and are bound by violently contested borders. Operation Sindoor: Where Atmanirbhar Bharat Won Operation Sindoor served as a comprehensive validation of India's defence indigenisation policies under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision. The operation demonstrated how indigenous systems performed under actual combat conditions, providing real-world proof of concept for India's ballistic missile defence ecosystem. The multi-layered air defence system that protected India during the crisis consisted of several indigenous components. During the onslaught, a unified grid directed a tiered defence: the inner layer, comprising Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) and Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS), neutralised low-flying drones. The next layer of short-range missiles like the Spyder and Pechora provided point defence for critical assets, while the medium-range, indigenously developed Akash and Indo-Israeli MRSAM systems formed the backbone of area defence. The outermost layer, consisting of the formidable S-400 'Sudarshan' system and combat air patrols by fighter jets, engaged threats at long range. The operation showcased the maturity of India's indigenous defence ecosystem. The Akashteer air defence system, developed by Bharat Electronics Limited and integrated with IACCS, provided seamless and unified air situation awareness accessible to the lowest units of the Army Air Defence. The successful deployment of loitering munitions and precision strike capabilities demonstrated India's advancement in offensive systems as well. Indigenous platforms executed strikes without loss of Indian assets, underscoring the effectiveness of surveillance, planning, and delivery systems developed under the Make in India initiative. DRDO's Ballistic Missile Defence Programme: India's Ballistic Missile Defence programme represents one of the most ambitious technological undertakings in the country's defence history. The programme, sanctioned in 2000 following the Kargil conflict, has evolved through systematic phases designed to address increasingly sophisticated threats. Phase I of the BMD programme is now complete and has been successfully deployed. This phase includes the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for exo-atmospheric interception and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile for endo-atmospheric ranges. The system demonstrates the capability to intercept ballistic missiles with ranges up to 2,000 kilometres, providing robust protection against medium-range threats. The recent successful testing of Phase II represents a quantum leap in capabilities. On July 24, 2024, DRDO successfully flight-tested the Phase-II Ballistic Missile Defence System, demonstrating indigenous capability to defend against ballistic missiles of the 5,000-kilometre class. This achievement places India in an exclusive club of nations with advanced BMD capabilities. The two-stage solid-propelled ground-launched system incorporates state-of-the-art indigenous technologies developed by DRDO. The Revolution In Defence Production The transformation of India's defence sector under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative has been nothing short of revolutionary. Defence production has surged 174% since 2014, reaching Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2023-24. Defence exports provide compelling evidence of this transformation. From Rs 1,940 crore in 2014-15, exports soared to Rs 23,622 crore in 2024-25. The country now exports defence equipment to over 85 countries, including sophisticated markets like the United States and France. The establishment of Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has created concentrated centres of excellence for defence manufacturing. The implementation of Positive Indigenisation Lists has provided guaranteed markets for domestic manufacturers, encouraging investment in research and development. Over 14,000 items have been indigenised under the SRIJAN initiative, with an additional 3,000 items covered under the Positive Indigenisation Lists. The Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy aims to achieve Rs 1.75 lakh crore in defence manufacturing by 2025, demonstrating the government's commitment to scaling indigenous capabilities. In addition, the success of Atmanirbhar Bharat in developing critical defence technologies validates the potential for technological sovereignty in an increasingly multipolar world. This achievement encourages other developing nations, especially in the Global South, to invest in indigenous capabilities rather than accepting permanent dependence on foreign suppliers. Deterrence Through Defence top videos View all As Prime Minister Modi declared following Operation Sindoor, 'India will not be intimidated by nuclear threats". And the evolution and progress of India's defence system under his leadership show that India is ready to deliver on it. The psychological impact of effective missile defence is clear. Pakistan's reliance on nuclear blackmail as a tool of statecraft becomes significantly less effective when India possesses credible defensive capabilities. The knowledge that India can neutralise a significant portion of incoming threats alters the strategic calculus that Pakistan or even China must consider. As India moves toward complete defence autonomy by 2047, the ballistic missile defence programme stands as a testament to what can be achieved when visionary leadership, technological capability, and national will converge in service of a secure and prosperous future. The iron shield that protects Bharat today is the delivery of Modi's promise to the citizens and is the foundation for India's emergence as a responsible global power. About the Author Sohil Sinha Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 20, 2025, 10:15 IST News india Modi's Iron Shield: The Vision Behind Bharat's Ballistic Missile Defence Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
US intel report reveals Chinese support for Pakistan's nuclear ambitions
The United States Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) has claimed in its worldwide threat assessment report for 2025that Pakistan is actively developing battlefield nuclear weapons and modernizing its nuclear arsenal, viewing India as its primary adversary. This revelation is significant considering Pakistan faced a humiliating military defeat in the recent conflict with India. Facing a punitive military response from India, Pakistan requested the US to intervene and called for a ceasefire. Since India called Pakistan's nuclear bluff in this conflict, analysts are worried that Islamabad will desperately push to develop short-range tactical nuclear weapons to deter India's conventional response. It is a perilous development, which may lower Pakistan's conventional threshold with India, and it may lead to the escalation to tactical nuclear options in the next military conflict. India's nuclear policy doctrine is well explained, stating that the use of any nuclear weapon by Pakistan will lead to massive retaliation. What is clear from DIA's assessment is that the humiliated Pakistan military would jeopardize the lives of millions of people by opting for the nuclear option against India. However, it would not act against the anti-India terrorist outfits freely operating on Pakistani soil, such as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), among others, to avoid future conflict. The DIA report mentions the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which killed 26 unarmed tourists, and subsequently led to India's military 'Operation Sindoor' on May 7, targeting 'terrorist infrastructure' in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Washington understands that the Pakistan military establishment continues to use its proxy outfits to conduct cross-border terrorist attacks in India and jeopardize the peace and stability in the region. It is ironic that on the one hand, Pakistan's intelligence agencies are openly supporting terror activities in neighboring countries like India, Afghanistan, and Iran, while on the other hand, it is failing to handle local armed insurgencies in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The DIA report claims that Pakistan's military focuses on 'cross-border skirmishes' with regional neighbors (notably India), counterterrorism operations, and addressing rising attacks by groups like Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch nationalist militants. Despite these efforts, over 2,500 people were killed in militant attacks in Pakistan in 2024. Furthermore, the Pakistan army is conducting regular drone strikes on its citizens in the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These strikes have resulted in several civilian casualties, mostly women and children. The violent marginalization and killings of ethnic minorities like Pashtuns and Baloch have only led to more internal instability in Pakistan. Under Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir's 'hard state' policy, incidents of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and illegal imprisonment of local activists, journalists, and non-Punjabi political representatives have increased substantially. There is not a single day when these oppressed ethnic minorities do not see violence and state forced suppression of their basic human right of peaceful existence. The DIA brings out this hypocrisy or 'double game' of the Pakistani military establishment in their recent assessment. More importantly, it also highlights China's substantialeconomic and military support to Pakistan, including foreign materials and technology for Pakistan's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. While the report claims that regular terrorist attacks on Chinese citizens, especially those working on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), have strained relations between the two countries, Beijing's continued strategic and operational support for Islamabad remains intact. For example, the recent Indo-Pak conflict highlighted Pakistan's use of Chinese-origin combat jets (JF-17, J-10C) and PL-15 missiles. Although those weapons proved mostly inconsequential and caused significant international embarrassment for China, there are no indications that Sino-Pakistani military relations will be affected long-term. Reports indicate that Pakistan is begging for emergency procurement of Chinese weapons, including the fifth-generation J-35A stealth fighter jet and air defense systems, to avoid future military defeat against India. This, even though Pakistan's economy is in doldrums, and it nearly lost USD 11 billion in the recent conflict with India. The DIA report says that the economic fragility in Pakistan persists, with a USD 350 billion economy under strain, though a USD 7 billion IMF loan program in 2024 offers some relief. As Pakistan desperately tries to import the so-called 'state-of-the-art' defense equipment from multiple countries, how it will afford them remains a big question. It has already missed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) projections for the year 2025 by one per cent; there are no positive indications for the country's future economic growth. Additionally, Pakistan is witnessing several internal protests against the price rise of essential food and energy items, water scarcity, inter-provincial tensions, and suppression of political rights. The country is now under complete military control after Munir's unprecedented promotion to the Field Marshal rank following embarrassing setbacks during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos. A significant portion of this year's budget will likely be allocated to defense purchases, thereby jeopardizing civilian needs and the financial rights of the provinces. Moreover, as the DIA report claims, Pakistan is actively developing battlefield nuclear weapons, which will require the urgent procurement of fissile materials, costing immensely to the country's dwindling economy. U.S. intelligence documents, including DIA assessments, have long expressed unease about Pakistan's nuclear program. A 2013 report highlighted uncertainties in tracking nuclear materials, with the DIA establishing a Pakistan WMD Analysis Cell to monitor movements. The focus was on gaps in understanding Pakistan's nuclear security and procurement of WMD-applicable goods, often from China. This aligns with the 2025 report's emphasis on Pakistan's nuclear modernization and reliance on foreign suppliers. It will further increase Islamabad's dependence on Beijing, making it more vulnerable to Chinese strategic demands in the Indo-Pacific region, thereby hurting American interests. The report shows continuity in DIA's concerns about Pakistan's dangerous nuclear ambitions, its unabated 'good' versus 'bad' terrorist strategy, and strategic alignment with China, all while viewing India as an 'existential' threat. All these issues will formulate Pakistan's military policy, which may lead to more instability and armed conflicts in the Indian subcontinent.
