Defence boost: Nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi II missile test-fired successfully
Bhubaneshwar: India on Thursday successfully test-fired nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, off Odisha coast.
Prithivi -II is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads.
According to sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the missile was tested successfully at 12:10 pm from Launch Complex-3 of the ITR. Designed to carry both solid and liquid fuels, the missile has a strike range of 250 to 350 km and is capable of carrying a 500 kg to 1,000 kg load.
Prithivi -II is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin-engines. The missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory for striking its target. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles. The missile was included in Indian Army on January 27, 1996.
The twin-engine Prithvi-II is 8.56 metre in length, 1.1 metre in width and weighs 4,600 kg, sources said. “The trial data of the missile conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) shows positive results,” said a defence source. “The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of DRDO as part of training exercise,” a defence scientist said.
Such training launches clearly indicate India's operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also establishes the reliability of this deterrent component of the country’s strategic arsenal, they said. The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 19, 2015 from the same test range in Odisha.
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