Navy successfully tests n-capable ‘Dhanush’
05 Oct 2012
Hard on the heels of the launch of Prithvi-II on Thursday, India today successfully test-fired its sea-borne counterpart, the nuclear-capable short range missile Dhanush, from a warship off Odisha coast today.
Indigenously developed like Prithvi (See: N-capable Prithvi-II missile successfully test-fired), the Dhanush has a strike range of up to 350 km and can carry a 500 kg conventional or nuclear warhead, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesperson Ravi Kumar Gupta told the media.
Gupta described the trial as fully successful, adding that the test was conducted by the strategic force command (SFC) of the Indian Navy. The missile was fired somewhere between Puri and Visakhapatnam. "The trial was a complete success and all the mission objectives were accomplished," he said.
Developed by the DRDO, the missile is about 8.53 m in length and 0.9 m in diameter. This single stage missile uses a liquid propellant.
The Dhanush missile can be used as an anti-ship weapon as well as for destroying land targets depending on the range.