Successful night trial of nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile conductedOct 7 (AZINS) India's Strategic Force Command Saturday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile during night time as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, defence sources said.

The surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was launched from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore around 8.30 pm, they said. Prithvi-II was previously successfully test-fired during night time on February 21 this year from the ITR at Chandipur. The missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kilogramme of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially-formed Strategic Force Command of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said. "The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.

The downrange teams on board the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown. On November 21, 2016, two Prithvi-II missiles were successfully test fired in salvo mode in quick succession from the same base. Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, the sources said.