![]() ![]() ![]() The writer is Editor, Defence Forum Indiaĭon’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. This requires a sophisticated command and control system and safety measures that will prevent the release of nuclear weapons without authorisation from the political leadership. It also indicates the level of readiness of India’s nuclear weapons, which were earlier kept in demated form which entailed the warheads and the missiles being kept separate. India has tested the K-4 SLBM, which has a range of 3,500 km. India asking for the Arihant to be deployed against China indicates an operational long-range submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM), apart from the 750 km range K-15 SLBM that will not be able to target China from the Bay of Bengal. It shows India’s lack of trust in the declared Chinese policy that required both sides to engage in confidence-building measures (CBMs). This, despite the fact that both India and China profess a no-first use policy. It again shows how serious the situation was at the height of the crisis. The civilian leadership asking for India’s sea-based nuclear assets to be deployed during the Dokalam crisis is consistent with reports of land- and airbased nuclear assets being put in place as well. Which makes the news report suspect about its claim that the political leadership was not informed. There are additional protocols to keep civilian control over the release of nuclear weapons. Third, as sea-based deterrence requires mated warheads, it is a departure from the past when India kept its warheads and delivery systems separate. In July 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled Indias first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, catapulting India into a select group of countries. It is improbable that the NSA, arguably the most powerful person in the Indian security establishment, did not know about the status of an important strategic asset for 7-8 months, and learnt about the damage only at the time of a crisis. Intelligence agencies like Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) report to the NSA.
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