Nuclear-capable Dhanush,Prithvi-II successfully tested

Strengthening its missile prowess,India successfully test-fired two indigenously developed,nuclear-capable Dhanush and Prithvi-II ballistic missiles.

Strengthening its missile prowess,India on Friday successfully test-fired two indigenously developed,nuclear-capable Dhanush and Prithvi-II ballistic missiles,both having 350 km strike range,from separate locations off the Orissa coast.

While Dhanush was flight tested from naval vessel INS Suvarnain the Bay of Bengal,surface-to-surface Prithvi-II ballistic missile was test-fired within an hour from Launch Complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range ITR at Chandipur-on-sea,about 15 km from here.

The flight tests were in textbook-fashion with the missiles reaching the target points with high accuracy, said ITR Director S P Dash.

All radars and electro-optical systems located along the coast tracked the missiles and monitored the parameters. The final event was witnessed from a ship located near the impact point, Dash said.

Defence Minister A K Antony congratulated all the Defence Research Development Organisation DRDO scientists,technicians and the armed forces for the successful tests. The tests were part of a regular training exercise involving the missiles which are under production after successful completion of developmental trials. They have already been inducted by the armed forces,said a DRDO scientist.

Both Dhanush and Prithvi-II were launched by the Strategic Force Command as part of the regular user training exercise. The missiles were taken from the storage depots and launched, said a senior defence official.

The two missiles were test-fired within five days of the successful demonstration of Ballistic Air Defence Missile System on March 6 by DRDO.

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The series of successful launches have boosted the morale of scientists and armed forces. The missiles have been integrated under the supervision of Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency MSQAA, a DRDO release said.

Launch operations of both the missiles were monitored by Director,DRDO,P Venugopalan,Dash,Programme Director,V L N Rao and a number of DRDO scientists.

Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO chief V K Saraswat was present at ITR,Balasore.