The Indian government has approved the induction of the home-grown surface-to-surface "Shaurya" hypersonic missile amid border tensions with China on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, according to the Hindustan Times.
The missile, better known as a land version of the submarine-launched BA-05, has been developed by India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
With a capability to carry warheads with a payload of up to one tonne, the missile has a strike range of 750 km. It can travel at a hypersonic speed - six times the speed of sound and reach an altitude of 40 km.
The developmental trials of the weapon were concluded in 2011. The land variant of the missile was successfully test fired in the coastal state of Odisha’s Balasore city on 3 October. The Indian strategic forces will soon finalise the deployment points of the supersonic missile, government sources told the Hindustan Times.
The induction comes in the wake of India successfully test-firing the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART). Termed as a major breakthrough, SMART was hailed as the mother of all naval weapons - it has a range of nearly 350 nautical miles.
Similarly, India has also deployed the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship and land-attack cruise missile to the border.
Meanwhile, India's subsonic "Nirbhay" (fearless) cruise missile - with an 800 km range - is also gearing up for test-firing in the coming weeks.
Indo-China ties hit a new low on 15 June, when deadly clashes between the troops of the two countries took place in the eastern Ladakh region. While India lost 20 soldiers in the conflict, China hasn't revealed if its troops sustained casualties.
Both the countries accused each other of violating the loosely demarcated Line of Actual Control. A series of high-level talks between the two sides have failed to yield results so far.
