SFC tests Dhanush, Prithvi missiles successfully

Ship-launched Dhanush Missile was successfully test fired from the Indian Naval Ship “INS SUVARNA” off the coast of Orissa at 10.03 this morning.  Dhanush is a ship- launched Missile against surface and sea targets.  All the Radars and Electro optical systems located along the coast have tracked the vehicle and monitored all the parameters.  A ship located near the impact point has witnessed the final event.  The flight test was perfect like a text book trajectory with the missile reaching the target point with a very high accuracy of less than few meters. 

The surface to surface Prithvi (P-II) Missile was successfully flight tested at 11 A.M from LC-III, ITR, Chandipur within one hour of Dhanush Missile test.  The trajectory of the Missile was also monitored by all the Telemetry, Radars and Electro Optical Systems all through the flight.  Prithvi(P-II) reached the designated target with accuracy of a  few meters, which can be achieved by very few missiles in the World.  The down range ship at the impact location witnessed the  final event. 

Both Dhanush and Prithvi Missiles were launched by the Strategic Force Command as part of the regular user training exercise.  The Missiles were taken from the Depot and launched from both the locations within one hour duration by two independent teams. 

The two Missiles were test fired within five days of the successful demonstration of Ballistic Air Defence Missile System on 6th March 2011, by DRDO.  The series of successful launches boosted the morale of the Scientists and Armed Forces.  The Missiles have been integrated with a very high level of quality under the supervision of Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency MSQAA.

DRDO Chief Dr V.K. Saraswat witnessed both the launches from ITR, Balasore. (DRDO Press Release)

Interceptor missile launch successful

A home-grown  interceptor missile was on Sunday successfully test-fired off Orissa coast. DRDO officials attached to the Missile Complex in Hyderabad tells Tarmak007 that the   'hostile' target ballistic missile (Prithvi) was first launched from a LC-3 near Balasore. In 3.58 minutes the interceptor (advanced air defence (AAD) missile) took off from  Wheeler Island. "The interceptor destroyed the target missile at an altitude of 16 km over Bay of Bengal," a DRDO official said.

(DRDO Press Release below)

India’s prestigious Ballistic Missile Defence System was successfully flight tested at 9.37 AM off the coast of Orissa. A Target Missile mimicking the enemy’s Ballistic Missile was launched from Launch Complex –III, ITR, Chandipur at 9.32 AM. The missile tracking network consisting of  long range and multi function Radars and other Range sensors positioned at different locations detected and identified the incoming Missile threat.

The interceptor missile at Wheeler Island with a directional warhead was fully ready to take off. The radars tracking the Ballistic Missile constructed the trajectory of the missile and continuous complex computations were done in real time by ground guidance computer to launch the interceptor at an exact time. The fully automatic launch computer launched the interceptor at 9.37 AM and the onboard INS (Inertial Navigation System) and ground based Radars guided the interceptor to the target (incoming Ballistic Missile).
The Interceptor intercepted the Ballistic Missile at an altitude of 16 km and blasted the missile into pieces. It was a text book launch and all the events and mission sequence took place as expected.
Dr V. K. Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, along with Sri Avinash Chander, Director ASL, Sri S.K. Ray, Director RCI, Sri P. Venugopalan, Director DRDL, Dr Sekhar, Chief ControllerR&D (Missile Systems & LIC), Sri Satish Kumar, Director TBRL and Sri S. P. Dash, Director ITR  monitored all the operations and guided the teams during the launch. Program Director Sri VLN Rao mentioned about perfection of all the activities. 
Flight test was witnessed by many senior scientists and the IDS (Integrated Defence Staff) team. The success of this test is a major achievement leading towards deployment. It was a major milestone in the history of Ballistic Missile Defence Programme of the country.