India today successfully test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipore off Odisha coast. The missile was fired at 9.48 this morning from launch complex number-3 of ITR by the Strategic Force Command personnel of the Indian Army from a road mobile launcher as part of regular training to prove the preparedness of the user.
The battlefield Prithvi-II missile can travel 250 to 350 km and can
carry a nuclear warhead weighing 500 to 1000 kg. It has a flight
duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5 km. The missile
has features to deceive anti-ballistic missiles and uses an advanced
inertial guidance system with manoeuvring capabilities and reaches its target within a few metres of accuracy. It has a higher lethal effect compared to equivalent missiles in the world.
The indigenously-developed Prithvi-II was the first missile to be
developed under Defence Research Development Organisation's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme and was inducted into the armed forces in 2004. Its Naval version called Dhanush has also been inducted into the Indian Navy.
The radars, electro-optical tracking systems along the coast and the
telemetry equipment in a downrange ship near the target point
monitored the performance of the missile during the flight and
recorded the terminal event.