Balasore, December 4: India on Tuesday successfully carried out the night test-firing of the Prithvi-II ballistic missile off the coast of Balasore in Odisha. The test was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command. The night trial of short-range ballistic missile Prithvi-II was carried from launch complex-3 of Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, the defence sources said. The Prithvi  missile has a strike range of 350 km.

Prithvi-II, which is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads, is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. It was inducted into the Indian defence forces in 2003.  According to reports, the ballistic missile was test-fired at 7.48 p.m. on Tuesday. Before this, the night time test of the Prithvi-II was on November 20 this year from the same base. India Test Fires Nuclear-Capable Prithvi-II Missile Off Odisha Coast.

The nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid- fuelled 'Prithvi' is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

Reports inform that the missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the SFC of the armed forces and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of a training exercise.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 04, 2019 09:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).