NEW DELHI: India on Thursday test-fired its Pralay quasi-ballistic missile, capable of striking enemy targets 500 km away with conventional warheads, in user trials that have now cleared the decks for its induction into the armed forces
"With this successful test, the induction of the system has become imminent," the Defence Research and Development Organisation said after the launch from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. "All the test objectives were fully met," it added, citing data from the range instruments of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh said the missile, equipped with advanced technologies, would further strengthen the military's operational preparedness against emerging threats.
The launch was part of user evaluation trials which is the final hurdle before induction. Unlike developmental tests, which DRDO conducts to prove a weapon works, user trials are held with the armed forces in attendance to check whether the system meets their operational requirements.
The real punch of the missile lies in its flight path. A regular ballistic missile climbs high and drops on a predictable arc, making it easier for enemy radars to track and interceptors to target. The two-stage, solid-fuelled Pralay, in contrast, flies lower on a flatter trajectory and can manoeuvre mid-flight to outfox air defences. It combines the speed of a ballistic missile with the ability to jink its way past interceptors, hence the "quasi-ballistic" tag.
The missile can carry warheads weighing 350 to 1,000 kg, including runway-denial and penetration-cum-blast types, making it a potent tool to take out enemy airbases and other high-value targets. It was developed with an eye on China's Dongfeng-12 missiles.
First tested in December 2021, Pralay went through user trials at its maximum and minimum ranges in July last year and two missiles were fired in a salvo from a single launcher last December.
Stare-run Bharat Dynamics Ltd, one of DRDO's development-cum-production partners, is manufacturing the missile, with the defence ministry having already cleared 120 Pralays for the Air Force and a regiment for the Army.