New Delhi: Questions are being raised about the authenticity of Pakistan’s underwater Babur-3 missile test by certain satellite imagery experts in India who have apparently concluded that the video of the missile test was probably fake and that it was “created” after combining three clips.
There were also reports that cast doubts on whether any missile test actually took place off the Pakistan coast on Monday. According to TV reports, satellite imagery experts have pointed out that the missile colour and speed changed after 15 seconds of the video.
Integration of Babur-3 with submarines unlikely
Significantly, sources in the Indian security establishment have also hinted that there is truth in what the satellite imagery experts are saying although there has been no official response from India. There were also reports that integration of the Babur-3 missile with any of the Pakistani submarines is unlikely to have taken place as yet, indicating that the missile cannot yet be fired from a submarine at sea.
News agencies had reported from Islamabad on Monday that Pakistan had successfully test-fired its first Submarine-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) capable of carrying a nuclear warhead up to 450 km from an undisclosed location in the Indian Ocean, giving the country a “credible” second-strike nuclear capability.
The reports had cited the Pakistan military as also saying on Monday that the missile, Babur-3, was fired from an underwater, mobile platform and hit its target with precise accuracy. Babur-3, which has a range of 450km, is a sea-based variant of Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) Babur-2+ , which was successfully tested earlier in December, last year.
This was supposed to have been the completion of Pakistan’s nuclear triad — the ability to carry out a nuclear strike by land, air and now from the sea as well. This was also seen as Pakistan competing with India.
