The Navy has successfully test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to surface ballistic missile ‘Dhanush’ in full operational configuration from a naval warship off the Odisha coast. The trial was conducted from an undisclosed location, nearly 45 km from Puri and Paradip coast. The test was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Navy. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had conducted a developmental trial of home grown interceptor missile Aswin Air Defence (AAD) from Abdul Kalam Island in Bhadrak district.

The ‘Dhanush’ test met all the mission objectives. The missile was test-fired from INS Subhadra, while another warship provided all logistic support  for the test. It was the 13th test of the anti-ship missile. ‘Dhanush,’ the indigenously developed naval version of the ‘Prithvi’ short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), has a striking range up to 350 km and can carry single warhead, conventional or nuclear, up to 500 kg.

Tidbits…

• The missile covered more than 300 km and achieved single digit accuracy.
• The mission parameters like elevation, trajectory, azimuth, flight path and stage separation were validated.
• Developed by the DRDO under its ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), the missile is about 8.53 metres in length and 0.9 metre in diameter with a launch weight of about 4.4 tonnes.
• This single stage missile uses liquid propellant and can be used as an anti-ship weapon as well as for destroying land targets depending on the range.
• The missile maintained its intended trajectory before plunging down the sea.
• ‘Dhanush’ is under production after its successful completion of developmental trials and it has already been inducted into the Armed Forces.