THE Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two consecutive successful tests of quasi-ballistic missile Pralay from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha on Monday and Tuesday. Three Pune based facilities of the DRDO have played a key role in the development of the tactical weapons system. The flight tests were carried out as a part of user evaluation trials to validate the maximum and minimum range capability of the missile system. "The missiles precisely followed the intended trajectory and reached the target point with pin-point accuracy meeting all the test objectives. All subsystems performed as per expectations, which were verified using test data captured by various tracking sensors deployed by Integrated Test Range (ITR) including instruments deployed on the ship positioned near the designated impact point." said the Ministry of Defence. "Pralay is an indigenously-developed solid propellant quasi-ballistic missile employing state-of-the-art guidance and navigation to ensure high precision. The missile is capable of carrying multiple types of warheads against various targets." said the MoD. The first test of Pralay (which means widespread destruction) was conducted in December 2021. The missile is slated to be armed with a conventional warhead and will be inducted into the artillery of the Indian Army. The ballistic missiles are a category of missiles that utilise projectile motion to deliver warheads. During their arched trajectories, the ballistic missiles are powered during their initial travel but later take a gravity driven path. The quasi ballistic missiles are a class of missiles that have low trajectory and take the ballistic trajectory but can change course and make maneuvers during the flight if required. The system has been developed by Hyderabad-based DRDO facility Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other facilities including three Pune based firms—Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and Research & Development Establishment, Engineers (R&DE). Other facilities part of the collaborative effort are Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) along with industry partners - Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited and many other industries and MSMEs. The flight-tests were witnessed by senior scientists of DRDO, representatives of the users from the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army as well as the industry representatives. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and DRDO Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat complimented the DRDO facilities, the armed forces and the industry for the successful flight-tests.
