India has successfully tested its surface-to-surface, nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile, aboard a naval vessel off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal.
Carried out by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force, the naval version of India’s indigenously developed Prithvi missile reportedly hit the intended target with high precision.
Officials at the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha, monitored the launch and flight performance.
Built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP), the single-stage, liquid-propelled 8.53m-long Dhanush has already been inducted into the armed services.
It is one of five missiles being created under the IGMDP and is intended for deployment by the Indian Navy as an anti-ship weapon and to destroy land targets within its range.
The Dhanush missile has a launch weight of approximately 4.4t and can carry a traditional as well as nuclear payload of approximately 500kg to 1000kg.
Built to provide the Indian Navy with the potential to precisely strike enemy targets, the latest test follows the successful test-firing of the surface-to-surface missile Prithvi-II from a test range at Chandipur.
