Sharpening its missileprowess, India today successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile with a strike range of350 km from a test range near here as part of a user trial bythe army.
"The surface-to-surface missile was flight tested ataround 0907 hrs from a mobile launcher from Integrated TestRange's launch complex-3 at Chandipur," defence sources said.
Describing the trial of the indigenously developedstrategic missile as "fully successful", ITR Director MVKVPrasad said, "All the mission objectives were accomplished."
The state-of-the-art Prithvi is the first ballisticmissile developed under the country's prestigious IntegratedGuided Missile Development Programme (IGMPD) and has thecapability to carry 500 kg of both nuclear and conventionalwarheads with a strike range of 350 km, sources said.
The missile uses advanced inertial guidance system withmanoeuvring trajectory.
The test-fire of the sophisticated short-range ballisticmissile, already inducted into the armed forces, was a usertrial by the army and monitored by scientists of DefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The sleek missile is handled by the strategic forcecommand (SFC), a defence scientist said, adding the trial wasconducted to gauge the effectiveness of the weapon in a realtime situation and improve accuracy.
"The whole exercise was aimed at studying the control andguidance system of the missile besides providing training tothe Army," said a DRDO official.
The missile is 9 metre-long and one metre in diameterwith liquid propulsion twin engine. A defence scientistassociated with the trial said radars and electro-opticalsystems located along the coast tracked and monitored all theparameters of the missile throughout the flight path.
Prithvi-II has been successfully flight tested severaltimes as part of the training exercise and the last trial wasa complete success on August 25, 2012 when it reached thepredefined target in the Bay of Bengal with a high accuracy ofbetter than 10 meters, sources said.