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Indian Express
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
This Word Means: Abdali Weapon System
Why today? Pakistan on Saturday (May 3) test-fired a ballistic missile called the Abdali Weapon System. 'Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of the Abdali Weapon System, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 kilometers, as part of Ex INDUS. The launch was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters, including the missile's advanced navigation system and enhanced maneuverability features,' the X handle of the Govt of Pakistan posted. An official in Delhi, speaking to The Indian Express, called the testing a 'reckless act of provocation and a dangerous escalation by Pakistan in its hostile campaign against India.' What is the Abdali missile? The Abdali is a ballistic missile — a missile that uses projectile motion to travel towards its target, and is powered by a rocket for only the initial, short duration of its journey. Ballistic missiles usually have three stages of flight. The American non-profit The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation explains it thus, 'Boost Phase begins at launch and lasts until the rocket engine(s) stops firing and the missile begins unpowered flight. Depending on the missile, boost phase can last three to five minutes. Midcourse Phase begins after the rocket(s) stops firing. The missile continues to ascend toward the highest point in its trajectory, and then begins to descend toward Earth.' The final, or Terminal Phase, is when the warhead (basically the bomb) has detached and hits the target. The Abdali missile was first tested in 2001-02, according to Dawn. It is named after Ahmed Shah Abdali, the Afghan ruler who invaded India multiple times in the 18th century. Pakistan has a tradition of naming its missiles after Muslim rulers who invaded India. Thus, apart from Abdali, it has Ghaznavi missiles (named after Mahmud of Ghazni), the Ghauri missile (named after Muhammad Ghori), and the Babur missile, named after the first Mughal ruler Zahir ud-Din Babur. The military drill during which this missile was tested was called Exercise Indus. The test, conducted at the Sonmiani Ranges, was likely part of an operational user trial conducted under the Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC), which handles Pakistan's nuclear-capable missiles, The Indian Express reported. India has recently suspended the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, following the Pahalgam attack on tourists. It has also taken a range of other steps — curbing water flow through the Baglihar dam over the Chenab; stopping the import of Pakistani products; banning docking of Pakistan-owned ships and suspending the exchange of all mail and parcels.
Newsweek
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
India's Nuclear Weapons: How Far Can Missiles Travel?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. India has been a nuclear power for over 50 years, possessing an arsenal that is publicly clandestine but capable in warfare—notably against its neighboring country, Pakistan, amid their decades-long clash over Kashmir. Why It Matters Last week, animosities reignited after Islamist militants shot and killed 26 people in Pahalgam, in the India-administered stretch of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. Harsh rhetoric erupted out of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, two nations that have been aggressive toward one another—largely due to laying claim over the Kashmir region—since both achieved independence from Great Britain in 1947. On Wednesday, Pakistan said it had "credible intelligence" that India intends to carry out military action against it in the "next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident," Reuters reported. What To Know India first tested its nuclear weapons in 1974, becoming the sixth country to detonate a nuclear weapon. The arsenal ranges from 10 to 40 kilotons, though exact numbers remain unknown, according to The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. While the exact number of nuclear weapons has never been made fully public by India, the nation's stockpile was estimated to be 160 nuclear warheads in 2022, according to the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists. A soldier salutes next to an Akash missile system during the country's 76th Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2025. A soldier salutes next to an Akash missile system during the country's 76th Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2025. SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images They said that India at that time produced enough military plutonium, approximately 700 kilograms, for 140 to 210 nuclear warheads—data which has been supported by the International Panel on Fissile Materials. India can deliver approximately 48 nuclear warheads via the aging Mirage 2000H/I, Jaguar IS/IB and potentially the French-made Rafale aircraft, according to the Nuclear Information Project—the first two of which were deployed in the early 1980s and have ranges of 1,850 and 1,600 kilometers, respectively. The Rafale has a range of about 2,000 kilometers. There were 64 land-based missiles as of 2022. "In a nuclear exchange, which we certainly hope does not happen, India has a huge advantage because Pakistan's population centers are within reach of Indian aircraft and ballistic missiles—and many Indian population centers are difficult to hit from Pakistan," John Erath, senior policy director at the nonprofit Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, told Newsweek. He added: "The real—I hate to use the phrase center of gravity—but the focal point of the Pakistani state is in Punjab, and that's very close to the Indian border. So Indian reach those centers of Pakistani identity relatively easily." Erath said that Indian nuclear policy has been relatively consistent in that they don't want to use such weapons as a deterrent, either against Pakistan or China—the latter of which has been involved in border disputes with India every few years, where some shots have been fired but no major warfare has occurred. "China has an extensive and growing number of nuclear weapons, and this makes the Indians very nervous that one of these border states could spiral out of control and lead to a nuclear response," he said. "China has a 'no first use' policy on its nuclear weapons, but that's increasingly difficult to believe." What People Are Saying U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated: "The United States stands with India, strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. We pray for the lives of those lost and for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous act to be brought to justice." U.S. Vice President JD Vance said: "Growing relations between our countries over the last decade are part of what led America to designate India a Major Defense Partner — the first of that class." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun: "We strongly condemn the attack. China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism. We mourn for the lives lost and express sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured." What Happens Next Nuclear provocations will be the major goal for diplomacy from the perspective of the United States, whose leaders have offered full-throated support to India due to decades of allyship. The situation's outcome will not just impact South Asia but could also reshape global security, particularly with China's growing influence in the region.
