- Getting there!

It is reported that on Monday, India successfully tested
for the fourth consecutive time a ballistic missile interceptor from a defence base in Orissa as part of its endeavour to create an impregnable shield against incoming enemy missiles.
The indigenous interceptor, fired from Wheeler Island, successfully destroyed an incoming ballistic missile - a variant of the Prithvi II. The single stage interceptor, fitted with a directional warhead and other advanced systems, neutralised the target at an altitude of 15 kilometres in the endo-atmosphere.
It may be noted that DRDO is developing a twin shield defence - the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) system for endo-atmospheric interception and the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for exo-atmospheric (50-80 km) interception. India plans to deploy the first phase of the defence shield by 2012 after completing a series of trials and evaluating their target range.
All of this is good news if what is being implied is actually in the offing. One of the reasons that India cannot take on Pakistan’s war of attrition is because it cannot go in for a major showdown, owing to the latter’s nuclear status. In a situation where two major powers seek peace, Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a desirable objective to achieve. It ensures neither power behaves irresponsibly. However, in the case of a country like India, which has major nuclear power like China and a hugely unstable nuclear power like Pakistan as neighbours, the decision has to be made sometime to grasp the nettle. There is no doubt that Pakistan is emboldened by its nuclear umbrella to launch terrorist attacks on India. Earlier, India was in a position to fight back in conventional terms, but this option is now denied by the possibility of Pakistan launching a nuclear strike in desperation. In fact, India has unilaterally announced ‘no first strike’ in the bid to prevent Pakistan from getting frightened into launching.
However, the way things are going between the two countries, it is possible that a nuclear confrontation may take place. India cannot prepare for this with wishful thinking and must do its utmost to prevent as much harm as possible to its people. As such, work must be undertaken on an anti-ballistic missile shield. It requires the development of interceptors and multiple layers of vigil on Pakistani activities. Since there would be only a few minutes for India to react, it has to prepare.
Unfortunately, much of what DRDO and similar agencies manage to develop is ‘technology demonstrators’. After that, it takes decades for them to produce something that can perform in the field. For them to set up a Defence Shield that gives even a slight hope of preventing an attack will require at least two decades and a major overhaul in the way things are done. All the same, however, it is a task that cannot be ignored. It is the price to be paid for being in Pakistan and China’s neighbourhood. Since the prospects of India’s second strike do not seem to deter Pakistan, the existence of a missile shield might.