India recently carried out the successful test-firing of the indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II ballistic missile off the coast of Balasore in Odisha on Friday (October 17).
The state-of-the-art surface-to-surface missile which has a strike range of over 250 kilometres was tested as part of a night trial by the Indian Army and blasted off around 7.30 pm (GMT 01.30) from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
The trial of the missile, which had been previously test-fired from the same base on September 23, was carried out from a mobile launcher.
The missile, developed by the DRDO, is already the part of the Strategic Forces Command | @manjeetnegilive #DRDO #India #Prithvi2 #Missile https://t.co/HBQBHFG7ns
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) October 16, 2020
Successfully conducted a night trial of the indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile.Jay Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/I2fdB9jDhF
— Raj (@ranjitesh) October 16, 2020
Developed by India’s premier research organization, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile is already a part of the Strategic Forces Command.
https://twitter.com/Maverick_bharat/status/1317119238536978434
According to DRDO officials – “The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha,”
The test-firing comes a week after the successful launching of a new generation anti-radiation missile, ‘Rudram 1’ from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
RUDRAM Video pic.twitter.com/2M28q2oxGb
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) October 10, 2020
According to defence sources, the Prithvi-2 ballistic missile boasts the ability to carry 500-1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. The sophisticated missile hits its targets by utilizing an advanced inertial guidance system with a manoeuvring trajectory.
The first missile to be developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), the nine-metre tall ‘Prithvi’ was inducted into the armoury of the Indian defence forces 17 years ago.
