The Indian defence ministry claimed that by introducing the basic version of the Akash missile system, the country had saved $5.3 billion with more orders in the pipeline from the army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The requirement of more spy planes comes against a backdrop of a mounting number of Chinese warships, including submarines, in the Indian Ocean.

India and Pakistan have been engaged in a serious border escalation since a cross border aerial strike by the Indian Air Force in February. The two arch-rivals have deployed their troops and military equipment at forward bases to retaliate in case of a misadventure by either side.

The missile would be crucial in any limited war scenario with Pakistan and comes a day after Islamabad completed the test launch of its own surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the Shaheen-1.

Suspected militants shot and killed two drivers and set fire to their apple trucks in Indian Kashmir on Thursday, a senior police official said. The official said the attack took place in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, which is a major apple-growing region and a hotbed of militancy that has raged in Indian Kashmir for decades.

The river bridge is crucial for troops and military equipment deployment in the Eastern Ladakh region – a contentious region between China and India. China had recently upped its ante in the area calling the entire region disputed after India declared Ladakh a separate administrative zone under the direct control of Delhi.

At least four civilians and three soldiers are said to have died during cross-border skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian troops late on October 19, reportedly making it one of the deadliest days since New Delhi revoked the special status of Indian-administered Kashmir in August.

India will become the fifth nation in the world after the US, Russia, France and Israel to develop and deliver its first domestic beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) to the country’s air force, a defence research official said.

Since the partition of India in 1947, which established the two independent states of India and Pakistan, Pakistan has infiltrated soldiers into Indian Kashmir, assisted anti-Indian Muslim terrorists in Jammu-Kashmir and sponsored many murderous operations inside India proper.

Despite China’s objection to the Indian stance on Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as “South Tibet”, the Indian Air Force activated a crucial advanced landing ground in the State on Wednesday.