India successfully tests Prithvi II missile

India on Friday successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile from a military base in Odisha, a senior official said.

The indigenously-developed ballistic missile with a maximum range of 350 km was fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Balasore district, about 230 km from Bhubaneswar.

“It was a perfect launch. It met all mission objectives,” test range Director M.V.K.V. Prasad told IANS.

The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian Army conducted the test as part of a regular training exercise, he said.

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 battlefield missile, with flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5 km, can carry a 500-kg warhead.

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

It has a higher lethal effect compared to equivalent missiles in the world. Scientists say the accuracy has already been demonstrated in the past in the development flight trials.