Why does India want to test-fire the Surya as early as possible?
First, there is consensus among India’s political parties on the need to enhance the country’s missile defence capabilities. Experts say future warfare will be heavily dependent on missiles. Second, India’s neighbouring nations are bristling with missiles. Pakistan has developed and tested a number of missiles including the Hatf-1 and Hatf-2 missiles. China has an arsenal of short and long-range missiles. China is far ahead of others in the missile race in the region as it has already done two-test flights of the Dong-Feng-31 and Julang-2, a combined ICBM and submarine-launched ballistic missile. According to the government’s defence plans, these surface-to-air missiles were to have replaced the Russian-supplied OSA-AK and Kvadrat systems by the early 1990s.
