India tests fire short-range ballistic missile

NEW DELHI

India on Wednesday successfully conducted a maiden flight test of its indigenously developed surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ off the coast of Odisha.

Pralay was launched from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in the eastern state of Odisha, according to an official announcement released by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). “The mission has met all its objectives,” it added.

“The new missile followed the desired quasi-ballistic trajectory and reached the designated target with high degree accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms. All the sub-systems performed satisfactorily. All the sensors deployed near the impact point across the eastern coast, including the downrange ships, tracked the missile trajectory and captured all the events,” it stated.

The missile is powered by a solid-propellant rocket motor and many new technologies. The missile has a range of 150-500 kilometers and can be launched from a mobile launcher. The missile guidance system includes a state-of-the-art navigation system and integrated avionics, said the statement.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and associated teams on the rapid development and successful launch of a new surface-to-surface missile.

The Pralay test came just one day after India announced that it had begun deploying the Russian S-400 air defense missile system in Punjab, India's northern state.

"The Indian Air Force is deploying the S-400 on the western border to counter possible threats from Pakistan and China. The S-400 batteries will be capable of dealing with airborne threats from Pakistan and China," a local media reported.

Pakistan also stated on Tuesday that it had "successfully" tested a longer-ranged version of its indigenously-built Babur cruise missile 1B.

The missile has an original range of 700 kilometers (435 miles), though the range of the enhanced version was not disclosed in a statement issued by the media wing of Pakistan's army.

The ordinance is capable of striking both land and sea targets with "high accuracy," the statement said.

This comes days after India tested its own next-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P.