India Fires Prithvi Ballistic Missile in Bhubaneshwar

India has  today successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile from a military base in Orissa.

The surface-to-surface missile with a range of 350 km was fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, about 230 km from here.

“The test was a 100 percent success,” M.V.K.V. Prasad, director of the test range, told IANS.

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 missile, with a flight duration of 483 seconds reaching a peak altitude of 43.5 km, has the capability to carry a 500 kg warhead.

Prithvi, which has features to deceive anti-ballistic missiles, uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring capabilities and reaches its target within a few metres of accuracy.