October 27, 2004 :: News
India today tested a naval variant of a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a range of 300km. The missile tested has been identified by news sources as a “Prithvi III,” and is said to be the longest range Prithvi tested thus far.
The missile’s characteristics, however, seem to indicate that it is more likely the missile known as the Dhanush, which itself had been derived from the Prithvi II. The missile launched today is said to have previously been launched from a ship, which is also true of the Dhanush.
The missile is also said to have the capability to be launched from a submarine. Today’s launch reportedly took place from a specially constructed underwater platform and canister, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in the eastern coast state of Orissa, some 230km from the city of Bhubaneswar. The missile landed in the Bay of Bengal.
Indian and Western news services variously report that the missile consists of a single stage, and the missile reportedly has a length of 8.5 meters (28 ft) and a diameter of 1 meter. While it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead—described by some reports as “sub kiloton”—it may also carry incendiary or fragmentary munitions. Each of these dimensions and capabilities roughly correspond to those previously assigned to the Dhanush missile. The dimensions of the missile called the “Prithvi III” are not known. The missile may indeed never have been completed.
It would appear that India may have applied the signification Prithvi III to the missile previously termed Dhanush, or that the news reports are simply inaccurate.
That the missile tested is in fact the Dhanush is also suggested by an October 9 report by India’s The Statesman, that such a test was planned.
» Oct. 9: Dhanush trial expected soon
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Dhanush, Prithvi-2, Prithvi-3
