NEW DELHI: Nuclear-armed India has tested its first hypersonic missile, the defence minister said on Sunday — in a move likely to threaten peace as it has potential to fuel arms race in the region.

Hypersonics are the new frontier in missile technology, because they fly lower and are harder to detect than ballistic missiles; they can reach targets more quickly, and can be ordered to change target in mid-flight.

The United States, Russia, China and North Korea have all tested hypersonic missiles, and several others are developing the technology.

“India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long-range hypersonic missile,” Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said.

The test flight comes days after China showcased its expanding aviation capabilities at an airshow, with the J-35A stealth fighter jet and attack drones displayed.

That, according to China’s state media, included the debut of the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile system, designed to intercept ballistic missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles.

India’s missile blasted off from Abdul Kalam Island off the east coast on Saturday.

Video images released by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation, showed a slender missile blasting into the night sky followed by a surge of flames. “This…significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies,” Singh added.

No further details were given about the missile.

New Delhi has deepened defence cooperation with western countries in recent years, including in the Quad alliance with the US, Japan and Australia.India is also a major buyer of Russian military hardware, including Moscow’s S-400 missile defence system — despite the threat of US sanctions over the multi-billion dollar deal.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024