The Indian Navy has test fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Dhanush, with a range of 350km, from a naval ship off the Orissa coast, India, as part of a user training exercise, defence sources have said.

“Today’s test launch was tracked from take-off to impact point through an integrated network of sophisticated radars and electro-optic instruments for post-mission data analyses,” the sources added.

Dhanush, the naval version of the indigenously developed surface-to-surface Prithvi missile system, is a single-stage liquid propellant ship-based missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The missile has a pay-load capacity of 500kg and can carry conventional and nuclear warheads capable of hitting sea and shore-based targets.

The missile was successfully flight tested in 2010 from INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal, according to Press Trust of India.