14-491: Nuclear Command Authority may refer to: Nuclear Command Authority (India) , the authority responsible for command, control and operational decisions regarding India's nuclear weapons programme National Command Authority (Pakistan) , the command that oversees the deployment, research and development, and operational command and control of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal National Command Authority (United States) Topics referred to by
28-602: A uranium enrichment plant, fuel fabrication facilities, and extensive nuclear research capabilities. Though India has not made any official statements about the size of its nuclear arsenal, different country estimates indicate that India has anywhere between 150 and 300 nuclear weapons. On 4 January 2003, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) constituted the Political Council and the Executive Council of
42-505: A range of 4,000 km in 2011 and Agni-5 with an estimated range between 5,000 and 8,000 in the year 2012. The successor, Agni-6 is said to be under development with a speculated range of 10,000 km. Since India had a few nuclear weapons prior to the availability of these missiles, especially the Agni, it is probable that the current Indian nuclear weapons inventory includes weapons designed for delivery using airplanes. The Indian Armed Forces operates
56-518: A sophisticated Command and Control (C2) mechanism to prevent their accidental or unauthorised use. The directives of the NCA are operationalised by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) under the control of a Commander-in-Chief of three-star rank . The SFC is in charge of the management and administration of the tactical and strategic nuclear forces. The NCA may be seen as the first stage in
70-601: Is Vice Admiral Suraj Berry who took command on 6 October 2023 as the 13th CinC SFC. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) was created on 4 January 2003 by the Government of India under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . Part of the Nuclear Command Authority , the SFC manages and administers all strategic forces by exercising complete command and control over nuclear assets. The Cabinet Committee on Security approved
84-481: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Nuclear Command Authority (India) The Nuclear Command Authority ( NCA ) of India is the authority responsible for command, control and operational decisions regarding India's nuclear weapons programme . It comprises a Political Council headed by the Prime Minister of India and an Executive Council headed by
98-948: The Dassault Rafale which is capable of carrying out nuclear attacks. There are no open-source reports suggesting which if any of these planes have been equipped to deliver air-dropped atomic weapons. One or more of the following aircraft types might be used for this purpose. The MiG-27 and the Jaguar were originally designed to perform ground attack missions, and would require only modest modification to deliver nuclear weapons. The Indian Air Force also operates several other older and less capable types of ground-attack aircraft which would seem rather less likely candidates for delivering nuclear weapons. The MiG-29 , Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and Mirage 2000 were originally designed to perform air-to-air combat missions, though they could potentially be modified to deliver air-dropped nuclear weapons. Plans are also on for
112-611: The National Security Advisor . India's first Nuclear test was conducted on 18 May 1974 with the code name Smiling Buddha . Since then India has conducted another series of tests at the Pokhran test range in the state of Rajasthan in 1998, which included a thermonuclear test, code named Operation Shakti . India has an extensive civil and military nuclear program, which includes at least 10 nuclear reactors , uranium mining and milling sites, heavy water production facilities,
126-518: The 150 km range Prithvi-1 in 1988, and the 250 km range Prithvi-2 in 1996, and the Prithvi missiles were inducted into the Indian armed forces by the early to mid 1990s. India was slow to develop the Agni missiles. It first tested the Agni technology demonstrator in 1989, the two-stage 2000 km range Agni-2 in 1999, single-stage 700 km range Agni-1 in 2001, the 3,000 km range three-stage Agni-3 in 2006, Agni-4 with
140-519: The NCA. The Executive Council gives its opinion to the Political Council, which authorises a nuclear attack when deemed necessary. While the Executive Council is chaired by the National Security Advisor (NSA), the Political Council is chaired by the Prime Minister . This mechanism was implemented to ensure that Indian nuclear weapons remain firmly in civilian control and that there exists
154-515: The appointment of a Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command, to manage and administer all Strategic Forces. Air Marshal Teja Mohan Asthana was appointed the first commander-in-chief. The CinC SFC is a Three-star rank officer from the three Services in rotation. The CinC reports directly to the Chief of Defence Staff (India) (CDS). He is assisted by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of
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#1732863108877168-615: The delivery of nuclear weapons via the Arihant class submarine using the SLBM / SLCM Sagarika . India and Pakistan set up their own nuclear hotline on Sunday, 20 June 2004. Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command The Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command is the head of the Strategic Forces Command , the integrated tri-service command responsible for the management and administration of India's tactical and strategic nuclear weapons stockpile. The current Commander-in-Chief
182-533: The development of an effective and robust Command and Control (C2) and Indications-and-Warning (I&W) systems and infrastructure for its strategic nuclear forces. The current status of delivery systems for Indian nuclear weapons is unclear and highly classified. India has developed and tested nuclear weapons that could be delivered on the Prithvi and Agni missiles, although its extent and operational preparedness in this respect remains unclear. India first tested
196-447: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Nuclear Command Authority . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_Command_Authority&oldid=1009825063 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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