Article Posted on : - Nov 15, 2014

Dhanush missile. A file photo: DRDO.

BALASORE, ODISHA (PTI): India Friday night successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.

The surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of India's indigenously-developed 'Prithvi' missile, was test fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal at around 7.40 PM by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force.

"The missile launch was part of an exercise by the armed forces and the missile reached the designated target with high precision," Director of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) M V K V Prasad said.

"The missile launch and its flight performance was monitored from the ITR at Chandipur, Odisha," he said.

'Prithvi-II' surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was also test-fired from a test range at Chandipur earlier in the day.

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), defence sources said.

"The trial was conducted by the SFC of the Indian defence force in co-operation with DRDO," a defence scientist said.

Dhanush missile is capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear payload of 500 to 1,000 kg and hit both land and sea-based targets.