India should be prepared to face any kind of threat arising out of nuclear or chemical weapons, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Thursday, even as he hinted at the possibility of a biological warfare going on in Afghanistan.

Referring to certain images emanating from war-torn Afghanistan, Parrikar said he felt the locals there were suffering from some sort of biological warfare, although he could not confirm the development. However, India must be prepared for such a possibility, he said at an event organised here by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

He handed over two crucial equipment to the armed forces — a Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) and a Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Recce Vehicle.

The WLR has been developed by DRDO’s Electronics and Radar Development Establishment that provides automatic and accurate location of the enemy’s weapons like mortars, shells and rockets during a combat. The government is contemplating exporting these WLRs once domestic needs are met.

The NBC Recce Vehicle is being developed by the Vehicles Research and Development Establishment for carrying out post event recce of nuclear and chemical contaminated areas.

It is capable of collecting solid and liquid samples of biologically contaminated areas, mark the nuclear and chemical contamination zone and transfer the recce data speedily to support formations.

Parrikar also lauded the efforts of the DRDO for the successful launch of the interceptor missile Advanced Area Defence from Odisha on Wednesday.

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