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'India must have an able air defence system on the ground to ward off N-attacks'

Lt Gen A Mukherjee, director general of the Air Defence Artillery, today said India must take urgent steps to counter the threat posed by Pakistan adopting ''first use'' of nuclear weapons as the theology of its defence doctrine after having developed a credible missile delivery system.

For India, the need of the hour is a real-time, fully-automated and extensively networked air defence ground environment system (ADGES) that would enable the political leadership to respond to the new threat perceptions in a nuclearised subcontinent, Lt Gen Mukherjee told Asia Defence News International.

At a time when responsible persons in Pakistan were holding out a threat of demolishing India's major cities ''within 15 minutes,'' the issue of defence of the skies could receive a shot in the arm with the proposed integration of the service headquarters with the ministry of defence, he said.

An integrated approach to air defence became imperative the moment India crossed the nuclear threshold in May last year. An Anti-Ballistic Missile shield was very expensive and as yet not a proven failsafe method available to even the US, Russia and China and that is why Washington still insists on a ''destroy on launch'' preparedness in its strategic air defence doctrine, he said.

Lt Gen Mukherjee said the proposed integration of the three service headquarters (army, navy and air force) with the ministry of defence could become a catalyst for greater functional integration between the air elements and the ground elements of the ADGES system so that the time-lapse between the knowledge of an attack and a response to it is reduced to a minimum and India's ''second strike'' posture becomes a credible deterrent to misadventure.

He underscored the need for a ''seamless' datalink system that would network information technology to air defence requirements. That the ADA's role in the protection of vulnerable assets in the Tactical Battle Area as well as areas of strategic national importance was critical is obvious from the fact that it is deployed in every segment from Siachen to being an integral component of India's armoured and mechanised strike force, he pointed out.

The detect/report/track/kill capability has gained paramountcy in the face of missiles and aircraft and Beyond Visual Range strike ability. To meet these new challenges the ADA has introduced new weapons systems and sensors selectively as force multipliers, he said.

''In fact, we not only look after the third dimension of warfare but are also actively involved, more and more, in helping to tackle the Low Intensity Conflict in Kashmir where over the past three years six ADA officers have been decorated for bravery.''

The trend the world over is to adopt a mix of air defence weapons systems consisting of air defence aircraft, short/medium range missiles and guns. This provides a layered air defence and has a very high degree of kill probability. ''Our current radar and artillery systems are among the best in the world and no aerial object that penetrates our air space has an iota of chance of getting away,'' he said.

UNI

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