- NEW DELHI (IANS) - India's
defence scientists are racing to enhance the military's ability to withstand
a possible nuclear strike despite war clouds receding from the subcontinent.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed
26 pieces of equipment that will allow the armed forces to cope with the
aftermath of a nuclear attack. DRDO officials Thursday said they were expecting
orders from the military for more such hardware.
The equipment developed by the DRDO, which has already been inducted into
the armed forces, ranges from sensors to detect nuclear radiation to field
shelters capable of providing protection in a "nuclear warfare scenario".
The armed forces had projected a requirement for the 26 pieces of equipment
in 1993-94, DRDO chief controller R.V. Swamy said here. "We developed
all of them and they have been accepted by the armed forces," he told
a news conference.
"We are expecting new projections from the armed forces and have already
begun work (on these new requirements)."
Swamy emphasised that the equipment developed by the DRDO, including the
nuclear shelter, would be effective only if it remained outside "ground
zero", the scientific term used to describe the area that comes directly
under the impact of a nuclear attack.
Citing security reasons, he refused to specify how far the shelter should
be from ground zero in order to survive a nuclear blast.
Although the shelter had been developed in collaboration with private firms,
Swamy said there were no plans to offer it to the civilian population.
"These shelters have been developed mainly for the military. If we
are asked by the government to provide it to others, we can consider the
request."
The nuclear shelter -- developed by a Pune-based DRDO laboratory -- is
capable of protecting against "nuclear, biological and chemical agents
in a nuclear warfare scenario".
The shelter is meant to be buried one metre under the ground for added
protection from gamma rays released during a nuclear strike. It can be
transported in a three-tonne vehicle.
It has multifarious uses, and apart from accommodating 30 people for 96
hours, the shelter can be used as a command post, observation post, regimental
aid centre and communication centre.
The 28-metre-long shelter is equipped with 2,000 litres of water, sophisticated
ventilation systems and two 5-KVA generators.
The DRDO has also developed a wide array of equipment to protect the armed
forces from the fallout of nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. The
equipment ranges from personal decontamination kits to mobile systems mounted
on cross-country vehicles.
Both India and Pakistan possess missiles and combat aircraft capable of
delivering nuclear weapons.
New Delhi has committed itself to a policy of "no-first-use"
of nuclear weapons, but Pakistan has said it could resort to using nuclear
devices to counter the superiority of India's conventional forces.
Defence sources said Indian troops began training for conventional warfare
against a nuclear backdrop shortly after New Delhi stunned the world in
May 1998 with a series of nuclear tests.
India's armed forces last year conducted a war game codenamed "Poorna
Vijay" (Complete Victory), the largest military manoeuvre in almost
15 years, to test their offensive and defensive capabilities in a "future
battlefield with a nuclear backdrop."
The exercise, conducted in the deserts of Rajasthan, had Indian troops
coping with simulated nuclear, biological and chemical strikes.
India stepped up efforts to protect its forces from a nuclear strike after
it mobilised troops along the border with Pakistan in December. The two
sides have close to a million troops deployed along their tense frontier.
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