India successfully test fires nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile

Bhubaneswar: India on Thursday successfully test fired its indigenously developed surface-to-surface nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur in Balasore district on the Odisha coast. [caption id=“attachment_2522486” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Having a strike range of 350 km, the test was part of a user trial by the army. The missile, capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads, was inducted in the Indian Army in 2003. “The test fire was successful as the trial data conducted by the Strategic Force Command shows positive results,” said a defence ministry source. Prithvi-II uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target. It has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads. The missile trajectory was tracked by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations, official sources said. The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on 19 February 2015. IANS