Army tests operational readiness; fires Prithvi II missile

India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi II missile, with a range of 350 km, from a test range near Balasore as part of a user trial by the Army.

Integrated Test Range Director M V K V Prasad said the missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads.

"It was a perfect launch and all mission objectives were met," he said, adding the missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 at Chandipur at about 9.45 am.

"The missile trajectory was tracked by DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha," defence sources said.

"The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown," they said.

Defence sources said the training launch of Prithvi II, which was inducted into Strategic Force Command (SFC) in 2003, clearly indicate the country's operational readiness to meet any eventuality besides establishing the reliability of this deterrent component of India's strategic arsenal.

Prithvi-II is the first missile to be developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation under the country's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and is now a proven technology.

The missile is thrust by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC as part of a regular training exercise. It was monitored by DRDO scientists, the sources said.

The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted from the same base on January 7, 2014.