Naval Technology:
India has successfully tested its surface-to-surface, nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile, for its full range of 350km from an offshore patrolling vessel (OPV) off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal.
The test was carried out by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force as part of regular user training. The naval version of India’s indigenously developed Prithvi missile reportedly hit the designated target.
A Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying: “The launch was part of an exercise by the armed forces and the missile reached the designated target with high precision.
“The missile launch and its flight performance were monitored from DRDO telemetry and radar facilities in the Odisha coast.”
The single-stage, liquid-propelled 8.53m-long Dhanush was built by the DRDO under the integrated guided-missile development programme (IGMDP). It has already been inducted into the armed services. It is one of five missiles being created under the IGMDP and is intended for deployment by the Indian Navy as an anti-ship weapon and to destroy land targets within its range.
Aim of the Dhanush missile is to provide the Indian Navy with the potential to precisely strike enemy targets. It has a launch weight of approximately 4.4t and can carry a traditional as well as nuclear payload of approximately 500kg to 1000kg.
The Dhanush missile was successfully test-fired in November 2014.
