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"There is a huge amount of work going on
towards creating a credible minimal deterrence
to ensure our adversaries don't take us by surprise.
We are way up and ahead of what we need to do
in protecting the country," Air Marshal K.J.
Mathews, commander-in-chief of the Strategic Forces
Command, said at a function in this aerospace
hub June 17.
Operating independently, the command is responsible
for nuclear arsenal from preparation to delivery
to the armed forces.
"As an independent agency, fortunately,
we have greater amount of operational freedom
and we report to the prime minister directly on
strategic issues," Air Marshal Mathews said.
He made the remark during his address at the
golden jubilee celebrations of the maiden flight
of the first indigenous fighter bomber Marut (HF-24),
designed and developed by the state-run defence
behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) here.
Exhorting HAL to leverage its expertise to meet
the emerging needs of the country, Air Marshal
Mathews said the aerospace and defence communities
should introspect on what they can do to strengthen
national security.
"We need to focus on our future requirements
by making best use of our resources that were
built over the last five-six decades. Increasing
self-reliance and innovation will help face security
challenges," he asserted.
Set up in 2003, the Strategic Command is tasked
with the use of nuclear weapons under the eight-point
nuclear doctrine, which is committed to no-first
strike with nuclear weapons but guarantees massive
nuclear retaliation if India is attacked with
nuclear bombs.
(IANS)
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