We have an interesting piece coming up tomorrow by ‘War is Boring’ blogger and defence analyst David Axe who looks at China’s recent missile exo-atmospheric test and what it could mean for the region (China is only the second country to succeed in such a test, after the United States).
One of the interesting things he says is that China itself may not be completely sure why it is interested in missile defence. Which makes it particularly interesting that India appears to be eyeing some kind of satellite killing missile capability, especially in light of China’s (much criticized) test in 2007.
According to Asian Defence blog today:
‘The goals for India’s anti-ballistic missile (ABM) and ballistic missile defense (BMD) programs may be shifting to accommodate an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon more quickly than previously planned, and this could radically alter the agenda of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who is currently in the middle of a three-day visit to India. “Memories in New Delhi run deep about how India’s relative tardiness in developing strategic offensive systems [nuclear weapons] redounded in its relegation on ‘judgment day’ [when the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed in 1968] to the formal category of non-nuclear weapons state,” said Sourabh Gupta, senior research associate at Samuels International Associates in Washington, DC.’