India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable ICBM
India successfully test-fired a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday in what officials called a “major boost” to the country’s strategic defense system.
The Agni-V missile, with a range of about 3,100 miles, has been in the works for several decades, a tweet from India’s congress said. The country, which has successfully tested this type of missile five times since 2012, last completed a launch in December 2016.
The launch comes as some of the world’s nuclear powers are considering steps that would slow or reverse years of working to denuclearize their arsenals.
The North Korean nuclear threat looms over the rogue nation’s neighbors as well as the United States. The country continues to test what appear to be ICBMs, and President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un trade verbal jabs in an escalation that many fear could lead to nuclear war.
The Pentagon also reportedly is considering the defense tactic of a nuclear strike against cyber attackers, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Trump’s administration seems to be advocating nuclear capabilities as “supplements” that will “enhance deterrence,” according to a pre-decisional draft of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review obtained by HuffPost.
- This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
