India Ponders Nuclear Strike Force

The Indian government is pondering the creation of a nuclear strike force for deployment on land, sea or the air. DEBKA-Net-Daily‘s military experts report that both India and Pakistan have speeded up their headlong race to upgrade their nuclear capabilities. Both have recently announced they will soon be arming submarines with cruise missiles tipped with nuclear warheads. In India, the chiefs of the army, navy and air force have been asked to draft proposals for the country’s nuclear command and control structure and present them to prime minister Atai Bihari Vajpayee. A new post may also be added to India’s defense staff: unified commander of nuclear forces. The two countries, both of which have tested nuclear devices, are locked in a dispute over Kashmir.