India successfully test fires Prithvi II missile from Odisha coast

BHUBANESWAR: India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed surface to surface nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile on Thursday from Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, off Odisha coast, in Balasore district.

The missile having a strike range of 350 km was test fired as part of a user trial by the army from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of ITR at 12. 10 PM. The surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrust by liquid propulsion twine engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

“The test fire of missile was successful as the trial data conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) shows positive results,” said a defence source.

It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

Prithvi-II has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads.

The missile trajectory was tracked by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations, said sources.

The downrange teams on board a ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown, they said. Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi-II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology.

The source said that the last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 19, 2015, from Chandipur ITR.