It was a successful weekend for the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as they test fired the nuclear-capable Agni-I, Prithvi-II and Dhanush missile in quick succession. All three are indigenously developed missiles.
On Saturday it first test fired Dhanush, a ship-based anti-surface missile, off INS Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal. Dhanush has a range of 350 kms and is 10 meters long with a weight of six tonnes. Next in line was Prithvi-II, which was launched from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur. Prithvi-II is a short-range surface-to-surface missile and can cover a range of 295 kms. It has already been inducted into the Indian armed forces, and Saturday’s test was a user trial for the Indian army. Dhanush is the naval version of Prithvi-II.
Agni-I, the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile was test fired on Sunday off the Orissa Coast. It is a single-stage solid propelled weapon system and can carry a payload of 1,000 kgs for a range of 700 kms. This was a user trial of the previously inducted missile. A further version Agni-II, a 2500 km Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile has also already been inducted into the armed forces. Induction and testing processes for Agni-III and Agni-V respectively are currently underway. The DRDO expects to further test Agni-II, Agni-III, K-15 and Shaurya in the coming months. K-15 is an underwater missile, while Shaurya is its land based version.
