Prithvi-II Missile Test-Fired

The Indian Strategic Forces Command personnel test-fired the nuclear-weapons-capable Prithvi-II missile from Odisha on Thursday for a range of 250 km as against its full strike range of 350 km.

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines with a strike range of 350 km.

After a nearly seven-minute flight, the surface-to-surface missile carrying a 500-kg dummy payload splashed into the Bay of Bengal within less than 20 metres of the target point, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists was quoted as saying by The Hindu in its report on Thursday.

The copybook flight met the mission objectives. A hybrid GPS-INS (inertial navigation system) aided accuracy, they said.

Two indigenously developed radar transponders for S and C bands were test-flown in the missile and validated, a scientist said.

They could be used for bigger missiles. The transponders would communicate via radar the position of the missile and help track it, scientist said.

Radars and electro-optical tracking and telemetry systems along the coast monitored the trajectory and other parameters of the missile in real time, while a down-range ship recorded the explosion during the terminal event.

The nine-metre-tall, single-stage, liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to be developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme of the DRDO. The scientist said, Prithvi-II could not be intercepted because of its manoeuvring trajectory capability.