Prithvi-II night test successful

BHUBANESWAR: The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of Indian Army successfully test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile Prithvi-II on Saturday night.

Defence sources said the missile was flight tested by Armed Forces as part of user training exercise. In combat configuration, the missile blasted off from the launching complex-III of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea off Odisha coast at about 8.35 pm.

"Equipped with state-of-the-art guidance system, the missile was fired from a mobile launcher. Its trajectory was closely monitored by electro-optical tracking systems, radars and other tracking systems," said a defence official.

This was second test of an Indian missile at night in 13 days. On September 24, an interceptor missile capable of killing ballistic missiles at an altitude of 100 km was successfully test fired from the Abdul Kalam Island.

Designed and developed by DRDO, Prithvi-II missile, which has already been inducted in the Armed Forces, can destroy targets as far as 350 km away. It is India's first developed and inducted indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile.

The single-stage 8.56-metre-long missile with a diameter of one metre is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The warhead uses a radar correlation terminal guidance system, which help achieve high accuracy. Guided all through by an accurate inertial navigation system and controlled by the thrust vector control and Aero-dynamic control systems, the missile can carry payload up to one tonne.

Prithvi missile can be taken close to the forward line over any kind of terrain. The night trial proved the reliability of the weapon system and reconfirmed its operational readiness.

"It means the missile can be fired anytime and in any terrain in short notice. The missile is now into serial production and one of the missiles picked up randomly from the production line was used during the trial," the official added.