Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD)

The Trump administration’s BMDR, released in early 2019, can be described as the most proactive BMD plan since the SDI days with fillip given to areas like directed-energy, addressing gaps in boost-phase interception and harnessing the space frontier. Besides analyzing the BMDR threadbare, this Volume uses a hitherto unexplored cache of documents to reconstruct the anatomy of the India-US BMD dialogue so to ascertain why it failed and what the BMDR augurs for India’s BMD future.

• A. Vinod Kumar
• 2019
• IDSA Occasional Papers

For every major military invention in human history, there has quite always been a countervailing technology. Nuclear weapons have, however, remained an exception. Ballistic missile defence (BMD) has, in recent years, emerged as a formidable means to defend against nuclear-armed delivery systems though yet to prove their total reliability. What does the advent of BMD mean for the nuclear revolution – will it make nuclear weapons obsolete or in turn lead to a new arms race among great powers?

• A. Vinod Kumar
• 2019
• Monograph

• A. Vinod Kumar
• 19700101
• IDSA Occasional Papers

A larger exchange of defence business between India and Southeast Asia may consolidate India’s position in the regional security architecture, and also forge greater political alignment with important ASEAN partners.

• Akash Sahu
• December 29, 2021
• IDSA Comments

Smaller, smarter, potent and cheaper combat entities — linked and networked – will be at the heart of future warfare.

• Atul Pant
• April 27, 2020
• Issue Brief

The laser-based aerospace defence assets, as and when they are fully developed and deployed, could prove to be a potent deterrent.

• Atul Pant
• February 07, 2020
• IDSA Comments

An ASAT in itself is not a defensive system that could ‘safeguard’ any asset. Instead, it is an offensive system that could solely be used for retribution in response to an attack on India’s space assets. In that sense, the capability can only be used as a deterrent against a potential rival.

• A. Vinod Kumar
• March 28, 2019
• IDSA Comments

Weapon development programs are successful when technological innovations are matched with national strategic goals. Further development of the Agni-5 should be based on the objectives of adding to the overall combat potential and augmenting deterrence.

• Kishore Kumar Khera
• January 25, 2018
• IDSA Comments

The Agni family has had a successful series of user trials extending over several variants and a number of years which should give some confidence in the robustness of the design, development, testing and induction process.

• Sanjay Badri-Maharaj
• May 15, 2017
• IDSA Comments

The second Chinese BMD test has a message for India: propel the development of long-range (exo-atmospheric) interception capabilities to mitigate the possibility of further asymmetry on strategic forces.

• A. Vinod Kumar
• February 22, 2013
• IDSA Comments