NEW DELHI, Dec 14: India said on Friday it was ready to jump-start production of long-range nuclear missiles which can hit targets deep in China or Pakistan. V. K. Sarswat, the chief of India’s missile development project, said the assembly lines were in place to speed up the production of the precision rockets.

Military insiders said that the announcement was a response to reports of growing cross-border military intrusions into India by China, which has an unresolved border dispute with its smaller Asian neighbour.

The statement came amid reports on Friday that India had moved a brigade-sized (6,000-man) army unit to the Bhutan-China border on India’s uneasy eastern flank.

“India is now capable of delivering missiles much earlier than the earlier period of three to seven years as basic building blocks for production and deployment of long-range missile are now in place,” scientist Saraswat said.

The comments also coincided with the second test in so many days of the locally made 700-kg surface-to-air Akash missile on Friday.

Saraswat, speaking to reporters in southern Hyderabad city, one of India’s largest hubs for strategic research, said nuclear-capable missiles would be built much faster with private sector participation. “We will develop the next levels of missiles in a much shorter time. “The private industry has emerged as a co-developer of the sub-systems of the missiles, which is helping us in cutting down development time,” Saraswat added.

India’s defence industry opened up to the private sector three years ago after state-owned ordnance units failed to deliver.

Saraswat’s comments came after India’s chief military scientist M. Natarajan on Wednesday said New Delhi will test a ballistic missile with a top range of 6,000km in 2008.

“The defence industry, having gone through a reality check, is now kicking up with results, and I’ll describe it as a positive sign,” a senior defence ministry official said.India has built a range of ballistic and cruise missiles as part of a 1983 project. —AFP