Nuclear-capable Dhanush missile test fired

“The single-stage ship-based missile was flight-tested at around 1005 hours and the trial was conducted from a naval ship off Orissa coast in the sea at a spot between Paradip and Puri,” the sources said.

“Dhanush” has a pay-load capacity of 500 kg and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It can hit both sea and shore-based targets.

The missile,which has liquid propellant,is the naval version of India’s indigenously developed surface-to-surface “Prithvi” missile system,the sources said.

“Dhanush,developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),was put to trial jointly by a team of scientists and officers from the Navy,” they said.

“Today’s test launch has been tracked from its take-off to impact point through an integrated network of sophisticated radars and electro-optic instruments for post-mission data analyses,” the sources said.

Though the missile had failed in its first test at the development stage on April 11,2000 due to certain technical problems in the take-off stage,subsequent trials were successful.  

“Dhanush” was successfully flight tested last on March 27,2010 from INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal off Orissa coast.