India again successfully tests indigenous Prithvi-II missile
03 Dec 2013
India today successfully test-fired the indigenously developed, nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile for the third time in two months, defence officials said.
The surface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km was test-fired at around 10:05 am from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha as part of a user trial by defence forces.
"The mission was a hundred percent success. It met all mission objectives," test range director M V K V Prasad said.
The test was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) as part of a regular training exercise, he said. The missile was earlier successfully tested from the same base on 7 October and 8 October.
Prithvi is India's first indigenously-built ballistic missile. It is one of the five missiles being developed under the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
The battlefield missile, with flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5 km, can carry a 500-kg warhead.
The missile has features to deceive anti-ballistic missiles and uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring capabilities and reaches its target within a few metres of accuracy.
It has a higher lethal effect compared to equivalent missiles in the world. Scientists say the accuracy has already been demonstrated in the past in the development flight trials.
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