India successfully testfires nuke-capable Prithvi-II missile

MUMBAI - India successfully testfired nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile from a test range in eastern Indian state of Odisha on Friday morning, local media reported.

"The test was successful. It was a text book launch," test range director M.V.K.V. Prasad said.

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

It is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines and uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory.

"The missile trajectory was tracked by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha."

"The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown," the official said.

Prithvi II, which was inducted into the Strategic Force Command (SFC) in 2003, is the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) and is currently a proven technology.

The last test-fires of Prithvi-II in 2014 were successfully carried out from the same base on January 7, 2014 and March 28, 2014.