India Developing Missile to Target All of China From South Bases, Claim US Nuclear Writers
New Delhi, July 13: It is being speculated that India is developing a missile that can target all of China from its bases located in the Southern region, claims a report published by the US-based digital journal After Midnight. In the article Indian nuclear forces 2017 Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris, the writer of nuclear weapons, have penned down that as per an estimated figure, India has produced plutonium for 150-200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced 120-130, adding, that India will need more warheads to arm the new missiles it is developing.
The two writers have claimed that India is now shifting its nuclear strategy focus from traditional rivals Pakistan to China. They wrote, “India has always focussed on deterring Pakistan, but the nuclear modernisation of the country is giving a signal that it is putting more focus on its future strategic relationship with China.” The two believe that over the next decade or so it will be interesting to see how India views its nuclear weapons’ role against arch rivals Pakistan.
According to their opinion, it is estimated that New Delhi operates seven nuclear-capable systems: Two aircraft, four land-based ballistic missiles, and one sea-based ballistic missile as India continues to modernise its nuclear arsenal. India is estimated to have produced approximately 600 kilograms of weapon-grade plutonium, sufficient for 150-200 nuclear warheads; however, not all the material has been converted into nuclear warheads, said the digital journal.
The two nuclear writers, on Agni-2, said, it can deliver nuclear warhead more than 2,000 km and most probably the missile will be targeting western, central, and southern China. About Agni-4, as per Kristensen and Norris said that it has a capability to strike entire China which even includes capital Beijing and Shanghai. Also, the electronic journal said that Agni-5 is capable of delivering a warhead more than 5,000 kilometres.
