Hypersonic Weapons in South Asia: Implications for Strategic Stability

Abstract

The development of new technologies and their use for military means has narrowed the gap between the technologically advanced and less developed countries. This may have disturbed the traditional balance of power with greater prospects of conflict between states with asymmetric military potential, besides increasing the risks of conventional and nuclear entanglement. The dangers are more pronounced in South Asia where growing conventional disparity coupled with new war fighting doctrines continue to strain strategic stability, thus making it imperative for the other side to strengthen its ‘cross domain’ deterrence posture. India’s recent test of Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which apparently aims to build its credentials of a technologically advanced country; once operationalised, would proffer an option of a preemptive conventional counterforce strike against Pakistan’s short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) – to deter Pakistan from the early deployment of its SRBMs and to create space for India’s limited war fighting doctrine of ‘Cold Start.’ In response, Pakistan is likely to develop countermeasures that could ensure the integrity of its Full Spectrum Deterrence (FSD) posture. This action-reaction syndrome could trigger a new arms race with increased risks of miscalculation in a future military crisis between the two nuclear armed states. This paper aims to discuss * Dr Adil Sultan is a Director Nuclear and Strategic Affairs at Centre for Aerospace and Security Studies (CASS) **Ms Itfa Khursheed is a researcher at CASS, Islamabad _____________________ @2021 by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. IPRI Journal XXI (1): 61-81 https://doi.org/10.31945/iprij.210103 Dr. Adil Sultan and Itfa Khursheed 2 IPRI JOURNAL  2021 the ongoing global developments in the field of hypersonic weapons; its implications for strategic stability in South Asia; and Pakistan’s likely