Battlefield Ballistic Missile On Track: Prithvi-II Successfully Test-Fired
Battlefield Ballistic Missile On Track: Prithvi-II Successfully Test-Fired
In good news for Indian citizens and the defence sector, India has successfully test-fired its nuclear capable surface-to-surface missile entitled Prithvi-II from a military base in Odisha recently, as per a senior official’s statement to the media.
This ballistic missile was developed indigenously with a maximum range of 350 kilometres. This missile was fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur from Balasore around 230 km from Bhubaneshwar.
"It was a perfect launch. It met all mission objectives," test range director M V K V Prasad was quoted as saying by the IANS. The Strategic Forces Command/SFC of the Indian Army conducted the test as part of the regular training exercise, according to the statement by Prasad. This is one of the 5 missiles being developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme of the nation.
Prithvi-II can carry a 500 kg warhead and it has a flight duration of 483 seconds as well as a peak altitude of 43.5 km. The missile can deceive anti-ballistic missiles and it uses an advanced inertial guidance system with capabilities to manoeuvre across and reach the target within few metres of the precise point.
This has a higher lethal effect as compared to equivalent missiles across the globe. Development flight trials have demonstrated this accuracy in the past as well, the scientists have remarked.
The missile was test fired as part of the user trial by the army. Defence sources indicate that the state of the art missile was fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from the launch complex-3 of the Integrated test range at around 10.40 hours according to a reports in the media.
This missile was thrust by liquid propulsion twin engines and it has an advanced internal guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory. Prithvi-II was chosen randomly from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the SFC and monitored by DRDO scientists as part of the training exercise.
“The missile trajectory was tracked by 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,” the sources told the media.
Prithvi II which was inducted into the Strategic Force Command in the year 2003 was the first to be developed by the DRDO under the IGDMP and it is an advanced and useful technology. High degree of success in missile launches and a disciplined armed force indicates India’s operational readiness to combat any kind of emergency or contingency situation.
