Nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile successfully testfired at night

India on Wednesday night successfully testfired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range off Odisha coast, an official of the ITR said.

"Two Prithvi-2 missiles were test fired consecutively and both tests met all parameters," the official said from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur. The trial of the missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the ITR between 7 pm to 7.15 pm, he said. It was a routine trial, he said adding, "The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha".

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activity was carried out by Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of the training exercise, official sources said.

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The downrange teams onboard a ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown. The last night time testfire of Prithvi-2 was conducted successfully from the ITR on February 21, 2018. Two missiles were successfully test-fired in quick succession from the same base in salvo mode on November 21, 2016, they said. Prithvi-2 is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines, the sources said.

The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target, they said. Already inducted into the armory of Indian defense forces in 2003, nine-meter tall 'Prithvi' was the first missile to have been developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). 

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