Pakistan launches first cruise missile from a submarine
The launch took place in an unspecified area of the Indian Ocean. The Babur missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The test could further disrupt the delicate balance with Delhi, with Islamabad leading the race in nuclear technology.
Islamabad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Pakistan "successfully" conducted the first launch of a cruise missile from a submarine, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The test took place yesterday in an unspecified location in the Indian Ocean.
Military sources said that the launch grants the country a "credible second strike capability" and is part of "deterrence policy" strategy. But experts point out that the test could ratchet up tensions with India, with which Islamabad has engaged in a nuclear arms race since the 1990s to reaffirm regional supremacy.
The Babur-3 missile was launched from a submarine and has a range of 450 km. It is a variant of the Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2, already successfully tested in December. The military declared that hit a target with pinpoint accuracy and confirm that could carry nuclear weapons.
Pakistan and India - hostile since the division in 1947 - conducted the first nuclear test in 1998 and later launched into a continuous race for nuclear armaments and technology.
According to some experts, the last test could further upset the delicate balance in the region, already undermined in July with the killing by Delhi of a famous separatist in Kashmir and the subsequent attack on an Indian army base, which claimed the lives of 18 soldiers.
.png)
19/01/2007
