India Test Fires Prithvi Missile
January 23, 2004 :: Channel News Asia :: News
India has conducted the 23rd test of its Prithvi (Earth) nuclear-capable missile. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher from the integrated test range Interim Test Range at Chandipur in the Orissa state, located on the eastern coast of India. Indian defense sources said that the test was successful and that the missile hit its target accurately.
Versions of Prithvi have ranges from 150-350km. Prithvi can reach a target at a distance of 150 km in just 300 seconds, and is said to have a minimum range of 40 km. Prithvi can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, with a payload weight up to 1000 kg.
Prithvi was first tested in 1988, and are believed to have entered service in 1994. Some reports suggest that Prithvis are equipped to carry multiple nuclear weapons. The Prithvi-350, or P-3, is believed to be ship-launched. (Article, Link)
» Villages evacuated for Prithvi test
» Map of India
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
Russia Tests Yet Another SLBM
December 26, 2003 :: Global Security Newswire :: News
On December 26, Russia tested yet another submarine-launched ballistic missile, its third test this month. The Global Security Newswire cites Russia’s Defense and Security publication that the test was carried out from the Yekaterinburg Delta IV class ballistic missile submarine, and fired toward a target in the firing range located in the Kamchatka peninsula. (Article, Link)
» Dec. 11: Second Russian Ballistic Missile Test in a Week
» Dec. 5: Russia Continues Missile Testing
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
Israel Arrow 2 Intercept Exceeds Expectations
December 16, 2003 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
On December 16, the Israel Air Force conducted the eleventh firing of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile interceptor, the sixth test of the complete Arrow Weapon System, including an interception. The successful intercept test was described as exceeding expectations, according to the December 30 edition of Janes Defense Weekly.
The test took place with the interceptor launched from the Palmachim air force base. The Arrow missile intercepted a Rafael Armament Development Authority Black Sparrow target missile which had been dropped by an Israel F-15 aircraft and made to simulate a medium-range ballistic missile.
The test, said one Israeli official, confirmed that the system “almost doubled the interception altitude of the Arrow,” making them useful against such longer range threats as Iran’s Shahab MRBM. “This was the most complex Arrow test we ever conducted and the results were even beyond our expectations,” the source said. Plans for future tests include the interception of an actual SCUD MRBM in 2004, to take place in the United States. The US Missile Defense Agency co-manages the Arrow program. (Article, Link)
» Jan. 17: China Daily: U.S. to increase production of Israeli Arrow Interceptor
» JINSA: Another Arrow Success
» More stories on: Allies, Technology, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: Arrow
Second Russian Ballistic Missile Test in a Week
December 11, 2003 :: NTI :: News
Only six days after an SS-19 ICBM test launch, Russia has again reportedly tested yet another. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Russian radio reported that an SS-27 (“Topol M”) variant, the SS-N-30 Bulava (equipped as an SLBM) was tested today from the Russian Dmitriy Donskoi Typhoon-class nuclear submarine, launched from the North Sea to the Kamchatka Peninsula. The SS-27 is Russia’s single most advanced ballistic missile. (Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-N-6, SS-26
Russia Continues Missile Testing
December 5, 2003 :: Newsday :: News
Russia today test-launched its third long-range ballistic missile since September. An SS-19 (Russian desgnation RS-18) was launched from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. An important component of Russia’s strategic arsenal, the SS-19 “Stiletto” has two main modifications, with a payload of up to 4,350 kg and a range of 10,000 km.
News commentators on the launch have been emphasizing the missile’s possible use as a satellite launch vehicle, or SLV. This particular missile was apparently a Strela (“Arrow”) modification, Russian spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Igor Zatula said, used to “launch a dummy satellite” into low orbit. But one should hesitiate to assign merely “commerical” motives to such tests: to say, as Reuters does for example, that the purpose is for “providing satellites for phone networks and television broadcasters in countries it once targeted.”
The military aspect of this launch, to maintain Russia’s ability to target countries with its nuclear weapons, is perhaps the more important point to understand. As Zatula also noted, Russia’s defense ministry used this particular launch to verify the missiles were fit for combat duty. According to the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass, the test is part of a project to extend the SS-19’s service life to 25 years. The service life of the SS-19 was previously estimated at 21 years, the limit of which many are now approaching. Russia continues an active testing program for a variety of its ballistic missiles; most recently with an SLBM test launch.
What is not mentioned in the brief reports by Reuters and others is the relation of this test to the roughly 150 SS-19s recently acquired from the Ukraine in July. The purpose of these missiles was not merely to be used for launching satellites—a reference to SLV capacity is a common means to distract attention from missiles’ military value. In October, Putin ordered the transfer of the 150 SS-19s to combat duty to replace aging SS-18s: at the time, he commented: “I am speaking here about the most menacing missiles, of which we have dozens, with hundreds of warheads.” (Article, Link)
» July 28, 2003: Ukraine sells 150 more ICBMs to Russia
» October 3, 2003: Putin Orders SS-19 Buildup
» October 15, 2003: Russia Tests Another SLBM
» More stories on: Russia, Technology, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-21 A, SS-21 B
Russia Tests Another SLBM
October 15, 2003 :: Xinhua :: News
One month after a previous test, Russia today tested another SLBM, this time with the Arkhangelsk submarine firing the missile from the White Sea into the Kura testing ground in the Kamchatka Peninsular. The identity of the missile was not given. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
Pakistan Tests Shaheen
October 8, 2003 :: Yahoo News :: News
Pakistan has tested its Shaheen-1 ballistic missile, just days after a test launch of the Ghaznavi (Hatf-3). The Shaheen 1 (Hatf-4) is nuclear capable, and has a range of 1,000km, although the AFP reports a range of 700km. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Proliferation, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Hatf 3, Hatf 4
Iran’s Successful Missile Tests Puts Israel Within Range
July 7, 2003 :: Ha'aretz :: News
Iran again successfully tested its Shahab-3 missile, with a range capable of striking Israel. This particular test, according to Ha’aretz, “was the most successful so far of the seven or eight tests of the missile over the last five years, and has increased worries in Washington - which spotted the test with its tracking mechanisms - and in Israel.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Iran, Proliferation, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Shahab-6
China Set to Test Missiles
June 20, 2003 :: Inside the Ring (Washington Times) :: News
China is reportedly planning to test three missiles in the coming weeks, the new long-range and mobile DF-31, the medium range DF-21, and the JL-2 SLBM. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Proliferation, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: CSS-5 Mod 2, CSS-5, CSS-9 (DF-31), CSS-NX-5 (JL-2)
Russia: China Test Launches CSS-X-9
January 22, 2003 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The February 1 edition of Janes Missiles and Rockets reports that Russia detected a launch and test of the new Chinese mobile ICBM on November 23, 2002. The DF-31 tested, also known as the CSS-X-9, was launched from a test site at Uchzhai in the Tekimakan desert and went some 1,700 km before impact.
Janes notes that according to the Department of Defense, the DF-31 will likely be operational “before mid-decade.” (Link)
» More stories on: China, Proliferation, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: CSS-9 (DF-31)
