URGENT NEED FOR SMART AND LETHAL WEAPONS

India must tread the path towards the development of a whole gamut of next-generation smart and lethal weapons for countering a two-front threat scenario, writes AMARTYA SINHA

- AMARTYA SINHA

The end of World War-2 in 1945 led to a new era in weapons development. The beginning of the Cold War in the second half of the 20th century led to the advent of a new age in which aircraft speeds increased by leaps and bounds due to the application of turbojet and turbofan engines, whereas ballistic missiles led to the development of new payload-delivery vehicles over longer ranges. The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons aided by medium-range terrain hugging and radar-evading cruise missiles played the role of a huge force multiplier in the domain of tactical/ theatre-level battlefields, and the widespread deployment of heavy armour along with cutting-edge guided artillery systems set a new benchmark in the history of modern warfare. While the primary focus of the two superpowers- the US and the Soviet Union, during the cold war was on the development and testing of weapons of mass destruction and heavy intercontinental ranged ballistic missiles tipped with nuclear and thermonuclear warheads capable of wiping out entire metropolitan cities, the focus shifted towards the development of precision strike and purpose-built weapons in the last two decades of the 20th century. Be it the strategic level battlefield or a tactical level war, the intention was to reach the necessary objectives at the earliest without prolonging the conflict. Smart weapons with increased lethality and precision remain an area undergoing evolution and massive technological transformation since the beginning of the new millennium. Facing an unstable Pakistan in the west, and an expansionist China in the east and northeast frontiers, India must tread the path towards the development of a whole gamut of next-generation smart and lethal weapons.

Laser and directed energy weapons