HVK Archives: India enters Big League with 2 more N-tests
India enters Big League with 2 more N-tests - The Times of India
Posted By Krishnakant Udavant (kkant@bom2.vsnl.net.in)
May 14, 1998
Title: India enters Big League with 2 more N-tests
Author:
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 14, 1998
Nation is geared to meet fallout, declares PM
Author: Mahedra Ved
Even as international sanctions were announced, India on
Wednesday conducted two more underground nuclear tests at the
Pokhran range, completing its planned exercise begun on Monday,
and offered to negotiate the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) on its own terms.
The sub-kiloton tests, carried out at 12.21 p.m., were of the low-
yield variety, meant for weapon calibration. They were the most
difficult of the tests conducted so far, experts said, as they
involved using the least amount of fissile material to gain
maximum impact.
With the successful conduct of these tests, India has caught up
with the nuclear-weapons powers as it now has all the information
and data enabling it to conduct computer-simulated tests not
barred under the CTBT in its present form, well-placed sources in
the government said.
Sources said India would like to be "recognised" as a nuclear-
weapons state by the Big Five, giving this country the respect
and responsibilities that go with that status.
"The tests have been carried out to generate additional data for
improved computer simulation of designs and for attaining the
capability to carry out subcritical experiments, if considered
necessary. The tests were fully contained with no release of
radioactivity into the atmosphere. This completes the planned
series of tests," an official release said.
Unlike the Monday announcement by Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee, the news came in the form of a terse press release from
the official spokesman, shorn of all the earlier drama. No
official was willing to comment or elaborate on record. A
scheduled media briefing by the external affairs ministry was
cancelled abruptly once the news of the final round of tests
became known.
As adverse reactions flowed in from various world capitals, Mr
Vajpayee presided over a high-powered meeting that took stock of
the situation. Despite the imminent sanctions, the meeting took
the view that the situation was "not alarming", sources in the
Prime Minister's Office said.
The committee, which has met daily since Monday and has taken
into account international reaction as well as the domestic
situation, including the stock market, also look note of the fact
that the rupee was quite strong.
India packs big punch in small bomb
Author: Dinesh Kumar
Wednesday's testing of the two sub-kiloton nuclear devices was
not only military-specific, but also marks a significant
technological leap as it now provides the armed forces with the
choice of a wide array of lethal tactical nuclear weapons, senior
defence ministry officials here said.
The testing of sub-kiloton (or less than one 1,000 kg) devices
has clearly demonstrated India's capability to miniaturise
nuclear bombs, thereby providing for both greater flexibility and
the capability to manufacture an arsenal ranging from 500 kg and
1,000 kg nuclear warheads for the Prithvi and Agni missiles,
nuclear-tipped precision-guided munitions (PGMs) for fighter
aircraft, nuclear-tipped artillery shells, specialised demolition
devices for use by special forces and submarine-launched
missiles.
In other words, India now has the capability to manufacture
nuclear weapons meant for specific targets both within or outside
a battle zone. For example, an Su-30 fighter could drop a nuclear-
tipped PGM from an 80 km distance on strategic enemy targets like
a nuclear-power plant, a missile factory, or a major ammunition
dump, reducing everything to rubble within a limited but
effective zone.
Contrast this with a conventional bomb that needs to be fired
with pin-point accuracy in order to be effective. "Even if a
nuclear-tipped missile fails to hit a target with pinpoint
accuracy, the radiation fallout along with both the shock and
heat waves will ensure complete all-round destruction in that
specific area," said a senior officer.
Use of tactical nuclear weapons will also minimise radiation fall-
outs. This would be of particular interest to India vis-a-vis
Pakistan, keeping in view that the wind blows west-to-east most
of the year. India's ability to build a wide array of nuclear
weapons also poses a nightmare for any potential adversary who
will need to cater to both a wider range and different types of
defensive mechanisms. In any case, there is no credible defence
against land-or sea-launched missiles.
Highly placed sources said that preparations for carrying out the
series of nuclear tests had been on for over a year and had not
been an overnight development. A Bengal Sapper Army engineer
regiment, for example, had been engaged in drilling tunnels,
digging underground pits and other construction activities for
over a year to facilitate the testing. Leave for officers and
soldiers of this regiment had been restricted and they were
authorised by army headquarters to call for any amount of
equipment and resources on a no-questions-asked basis.
U.S., Japan retaliate with tough sanctions
Author: Ramesh Chandran
President Bill Clinton signed documents on Wednesday formally
imposing wide-ranging sanctions against India that might
potentially signal a long-term rift between the two countries.
An apparently emotional Mr Clinton told reporters at a joint news
conference with the German Chancellor in Pots-dam, Germany, that
"India did not need to manifest its greatness on the eve of the
twenty-first century by such actions. I think it is a terrible,
terrible mistake" by a "perfectly wonderful country".
By his public comments on Wednesday, following the two additional
Indian nuclear tests, President Clinton appeared to indicate that
he was left with no choice but to enforce tough sanctions against
New Delhi. He recalled that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and
his daughter Chelsea had had an enjoyable visit to India last
year and that he had also referred to India becoming the "world's
most populous country" in the next millennium which also had the
"largest middle class".
The U.S. President seemed to suggest that with its proud
"democratic traditions", the nuclear path was not the way to
"greatness" when the rest of the world was moving towards
eliminating nuclear weapons.
Mr Clinton stressed that he was "personally disappointed" at the
"unjustified" Indian actions and that he had looked forward to a
"long and fruitful relationship between India and the U.S. He,
however, emphasised that now what was required was an unambiguous
response. Mr Clinton stressed that he had formally approved
sanctions against India and that he would urge other nations to
follow suit.
President Clinton also indicated that sanctions against India
would be a key item on the agenda of the G-8 summit in
Birmingham. He said that he had spoken to Pakistani Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif urging restraint and strongly advised
Islamabad "not to follow the dangerous path" taken by India.
Meanwhile, central intelligence sources said that the U.S. was
"not surprised" by the two additional Indian tests on Wednesday.
As already reported by The Times of India, there has been a
furore here in Washington over what has been described by the
chairman of the senate committee on intelligence, Richard Shelby,
as a "colossal failure" of the intelligence apparatus after spy
satellites failed to detect the first three nuclear explosions.
Japan, India's biggest aid donor, froze 3.5 billion yen ($ 26
million) annual grant-in-aid but left the committed aid
untouched. In Moscow, Russia's foreign minister condemned India's
nuclear tests but said Moscow wouldn't impose any sanctions
against its long-time ally. In London, the British foreign office
summoned India's ambassador to complain about the tests.
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