Launched from a ship, the missile met mission objectives in a flawless performance
A day after the launch of Prithvi-II, India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile for its full range of 350 km from a naval ship off Odisha on Friday.
The surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of Prithvi-II, was fired by the personnel of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) at 11.25 a.m. as part of regular training. The missile rose from the ship and splashed down near the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with an accuracy of less than 20 metres. All the mission objectives were met in a flawless performance, official sources said.
All the radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical systems tracked and evaluated the performance of the missile in real time.
The single-stage, liquid propelled Dhanush has already been inducted into the armed services and is one of the five missiles developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). For Friday’s launch the missile was picked up randomly from the production lot and the entire operation was carried out by personnel of the SFC, which is tasked with handling strategic systems.
Dhanush can carry conventional or nuclear payload of 500-1,000 kg and hit both land and sea-based targets.
Although Dhanush was originally planned to be launched within a short time after test-firing of Prithvi-II on Thursday as was done on previous occasions, the mission was postponed to Friday due to rough sea conditions.
Keywords: Dhanush, nuclear-capable missile, ballistic missile, Prithvi-II, Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, IGMDP, Strategic Forces Command
big achievement ..............
How can a liquid fuel missile be a tactical or quick reaction weapon! By the time the missile is filled with its liquid fuel to fire the enemy with its first strike would have caused the damage. Secondly if the Dhanush launch was postponed due to rough seas does it mean that this missile can be used only under ideal weather condition? If so all the enemy has to do is to launch its first strike on a rainy or stormy day and India would not have a weapon ready to respond! Wonder what DRDO has to say other than claiming another 'grand success'!
If these missiles are already inducted into the armed forces, then why
it is still a big news, unlike the newly developed and not yet inducted
one's like AGNI-V.
"mission was postponed to Friday due to rough sea conditions".
It should have been tested for those conditions too, and if it fails
then there is a chance to learn from it and to upgrade them "to use at
any condition".
Please Email the Editor