Prithvi-II test-fired from Chandipur

The data of the missile launch, conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC), has shown positive results, said a defense forces source.

The missile was sacked from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur in Balasore district on the Odisha coast.

The Prithvi-II missile has a strike range of 350 km and the test was part of a user trial by the army, said sources.

Prithvi-II uses single stage, liquid fuel dual motor engine that allows a payload of about 500 Kg.

“The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of a training exercise”, a defence scientist said. During the test, the trajectory of the missile, weighing 4,600 kg, 8.56 metre in length and 1.1 metre in width, was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.

Prithvi-II was earlier tested back in February this year at the same location in Odisha.

Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi II, the primary missile to be developed by DRDO underneath India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a confirmed know-how.