Prithvi-II successfully test-fired in Odisha

Balasore (Odisha): India on Monday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur near here.

The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 9.14 AM, defence sources said. "The mission has achieved 100 per cent success and it is a perfect launch," MVKV Prasad, director of ITR told a news agency. The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the total launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of DRDO as part of practice drill, the sources said. Before announcing success of the missile launch, its trajectory was tracked by the DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha. "The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown," they said. Inducted into India`s Strategic Forces Command in 2003, the Prithvi II missile, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India?s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology, said a defence source, adding, "The launch was part of a regular training exercise of the SFC and was monitored by DRDO scientists." This training launch clearly indicated India`s operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also established the reliability of this deterrent component of India?s Strategic arsenal, the source said. Prithvi is capable of carrying 500kg to 1000kg of warheads and thrusted by liquid propulsion twine engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. The last users trial of Prithvi-II was successfully carried out from the same base on August 12, 2013. PTI