Pakistan tests nuclear-capable Hatf-III ballistic missile - Daily News & Analysis

Pakistan today successfully test fired nuclear-capable Hatf-III ballistic missile with a range of 290 km that could hit targets in India.

As the test was conducted, a top Pakistani military official said the country had developed a "strong nuclear deterrence capability" and was fully capable of thwarting any aggression.

A statement issued by the military described the "training launch" of the short-range Hatf III or Ghaznavi missile as successful.

"The launch was conducted at the conclusion of the annual field training exercise of the Army Strategic Force Command," the statement said.

The military did not say where the exercise was conducted.

It said the missile could carry nuclear and conventional warheads to a range of 290 km.

The training exercise was aimed at "testing the operational readiness of a Strategic Missile Group," the statement said.

Addressing troops in the exercise area, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne said the country had "developed a strong nuclear deterrence capability."

He said: "Pakistan's Armed Forces are fully capable of safeguarding Pakistan's security against aggression."

Wynne said he expected the officers and men "entrusted with the task of deterring aggression would continue to train hard and maintain professional excellence."

He commended the troops for a "high standard of proficiency in handling and operating the state of the art weapon system."

Besides Wynne, the field training exercise was witnessed by Strategic Plans Division Director General Lt Gen (retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Army Strategic Force Command chief Lt Gen Tariq Nadeem Gilani, Karachi Corps Commander Lt Gen Muhammad Ijaz Chaudhry, other senior military officials and scientists.

The successful test was appreciated by the President and Prime Minister, who congratulated the troops, scientists and engineers.

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Missile woman - Khaleej Times

Tessy Thomas was the toast of the Indian media last week after she test fired India?s fiercest weapon but on the way back from the mission, she confessed that what gave her a high and helped her relax was cooking for her family and indulging in a game of badminton?both of which she has been unable to do for a couple of years now as her career hit a high note.

Thomas grew up in tranquil Alappuzha in Kerala, suth India, among meandering backwaters and coconut palms, but was always fascinated by the action at Thumba, in Thiruvananthapuram, where India launched its rockets.

The world of math and science was her other passion. Then, in 1985, she was one of the 10 youngsters selected for a Defence Research and Development Programme which brought her up close with the world of missiles and changed her life forever.

India’s former president and missile man, APJ Abdul Kalam, spotted her talent and mentored her for a brief while, further arousing her curiosity in the missile programme.

It has been a long haul for this simple woman with her ready smile. She struggled initially with even the small things, such as figuring out how to ride an automatic scooter, she told a gathering of heavy weight women at a recently held women’s congress in Bangalore. But that struggle and a rather painful fall from her scooter, taught her to master everything, even the simplest gadget, before she used it. To this day, that is her philosophy.

Working her way laboriously up in what was essentially once a male domain, Thomas showed that it is indeed possible for a woman to equal, if not better, her male colleagues when she was chosen to head the Agni-IV team as project director for vehicles and mission and later, was project director (mission) for the more sophisticated Agni V launch.

Thomas herself does not recognise the role of gender and says talent is what matters. “Science shows no gender discrimination, and in that sense offers hope to a society where discrimination is practised.”

At DRDO there is a three-fold increase in the number of women scientists and she is convinced the numbers will surge in the coming years.

While she herself is a proponent of work-life balance, Thomas is also a very driven woman who is continually on the ball where work is concerned. Her next mission? A multiple re-entry vehicle, she said on the very day she successfully test-fired the Agni V.

Her family will have to wait for a while before they get to enjoy her cooking. So will her game of badminton….

—sudhamenon2006@gmail.com

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