Show Notes
India has had a very busy missile season. In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and defence expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack a cluster of recent developments: the reported long-range hypersonic anti-ship missile test, DRDO and IAF’s TARA glide weapon trial, the Advanced Agni MIRV test, the long-duration scramjet combustor test, and the chatter around possible K-series submarine-launched missile activity.
But this is not just spec-sheet episode.
The episode looks at the story of how India managed to develop a rocket and missile force that is abreast with the rest of the world.
We go back to PN Haksar’s 1968 strategic thinking, Project Valiant, the IGMDP era, the shadowy Project Surya, and the modern Agni-6 question to understand how India’s missile ambitions evolved.
We also ask whether the least glamorous weapon in the news cycle -- TARA -- might actually matter the most in an age of long wars and attrition.
Hypersonics are sexy, MIRVs are apocalyptic, scramjets are manic engineering, but cheap precision at scale may be the real battlefield superpower.
Tune in!
Produced by Taniya Dutta
Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti
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