India successfully test fires Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur
NEW DELHI: India successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile on Wednesday. The short-range surface-to-surface missile was tested from test range at Chandipur in Odisha.
Such training launches clearly indicate India’s operational readiness to meet any eventuality.
Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi II, it is the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology. The twin-engine Prithvi-II is 8.56 metre in length, 1.1 metre in width and weighs 4,600 kg. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles. The battlefield missile has a flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5km.
Notably, Prithvi is India’s first indigenously-built ballistic missile.
Prithvi-II has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads.
The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 16, 2016, preceded by a trial on November 14, 2014.