July 9, 2008

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Prithvi-1

Country:  India
Alternate Name:  P-1, SS-150
Class:  SRBM
Basing:  Road mobile
Length:  8.56 m
Diameter:  1.10 m
Launch Weight:  4000 kg
Payload:  Single warhead, 1,000 kg
Warhead:  HE, submunitions, FAE, chemical
Propulsion:  2-stage liquid
Range:  150 km
Status:  Operational
In Service:  1994

Details

The Prithvi-1 is a short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. According to unconfirmed reports, India developed the missile with European assistance, and its motor and guidance system were originally based on the Russian S-75 Guideline surface-to-air missile.



India began developing the Prithvi-1 in 1983. In its current configuration, the missile is8.56 m long, 1.1 m in diameter, and weighs 4000 kg. Its body is made from aluminum alloy and its wings are made from magnesium. It uses a single-stage, liquid-propellant engine, which is essentially two liquid-propellant motors side-by-side that provide aerodynamic control as well as thrust vectoring. This allows the Prithvi-1 to stop climbing when it reaches an altitude of 30 km and dive at its target at an 80° angle. The Prithvi-1 has a minimum range of 40 km and a maximum of 150 km.



The missile has an accuracy of 10 m CEP at a range of 70 km and 50 m CEP against targets at 150 km. At present, it uses an inertial guidance system, although its accuracy will likely be improved with the planned addition of a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system on the warhead. It is possible that the warhead uses a radar correlation terminal guidance system. Its payload is a single warhead weighing up to 1000 kg. Following India's nuclear tests in May 1998, the Prithvi-1 was fitted with a range of small nuclear warheads with 1, 5, or 12 to 20 kT yields, and a weight of around 250 to 300 kg. Currently, nuclear warheads are reserved for the Prithvi-2 and Prithvi-3 while the Prithvi-1 is fitted with a HE pre-fragmented blast unitary warhead. Other HE, fuel-air, chemical warheads may be under development.(1)



The Prithvi-1 is launched from a Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle, designed to transport the missile along roads and railways. The missile takes approximately two hours to launch. The Prithvi-1 takes a great deal of time to launch due to its necessary support vehicles.  A single TEL platform will carry an average of nine support vehicles. Its short range and low payload prevent it from being used against strategic targets. However, the missile's high accuracy enables it to target enemy military targets effectively, making it a battlefield weapon. It is reported that mobile targets can be attacked with Prithvi-1 missiles using Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs).2

The Prithvi-1's first test flight was in 1988 and it officially entered service in 1994. Reports from 1999 indicate that there were 16 successful tests of this missile system. They also indicate positive flight trials from April 2003. Between 1993 and 1999, India built approximately 60 Prithvi-1 missiles. At present, between 10 and 30 missiles are manufactured each year for all versions of the Prithvi.3 It is confirmed that the Prithvi-1 was deployed with the 333rd Indian Army Missile Group. This unit was deployed with its Prithvi-1 component, to the Punjab region but was rotated back to Ordinance Headquarters in Secunderabad to ease tensions with Pakistan. Reports indicate from the year 2000 on, that a second unit, the 444th Indian Army Missile Group, has been created and trained with the Prithvi-1. Some reports suggest the possible formation of an additional unit to support the missile system, called the 555th Indian Army Missile Group, yet these reports remain without confirmation. The initial orders for these Missile Groups include at least 15 TELs and support vehicles for each unit. While in Secunderabad, Indian Officials suggest that this system remains in storage but in operational status. Therefore, the Prithvi-1 can be deployed in response to escalating tensions.4



Footnotes

  1. Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2007),53-57.
  2. GlobalSecurity.org, "Prithvi," available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/india/prithvi.htm, accessed on 5 June 2008.
  3. Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 42 (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2005), 85-87.
  4. Nuclear Threat Initiative, "India Proflie: Missile Overview," NTI.org, http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/India/Missile/index.html, Accessed 5 June 2008.

India Claims Successful Missile Interceptor Test

November 27, 2006 :: BBC :: News

India has used a nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 medium-range ballistic missile to intercept another in a missile defense test, Indian defense officials claim. According to the defense ministry, India launched a modified Prithvi-2 simulating the “adversary’s missile” from the Chandipur test range about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Bhubaneswar, capital of India’s Orissa state. The interceptor, also a Prithvi-2, was fired one minute later from the Wheeler’s Island missile testing center, located in the Bay of Bengal about 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Bhubaneswar. A spokesperson for India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) told the BBC that the missiles intersected each other in mid-air about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the coast and then fell into the Bay of Bengal as planned.
        If the medium-range Prithvi-2 can be transformed into a viable defense system, it could upset India’s fragile balance of power with Pakistan, which on November 16 test launched its nuclear-capable Hatf-5 (Ghauri-1) medium-range ballistic missile. But Rahul Bedi of Jane’s Defence Weekly points out that India remains far from developing an effective missile interception system. “It’s not easy, India is light years away from developing anything like the American Patriot missile defense system which is designed to detect and destroy incoming missiles,” he told the BBC (Article, Link) 

» More stories on: India, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Testing - Foreign

» Missile details: Prithvi-1

India Test Launches Nuclear-Capable Prithvi-2 Missile

November 19, 2006 :: AP :: News

India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 short-range ballistic missile today, reports the AP. According to an Indian official, the missile was launched from the Bay of Bengal from the test range in Chandipur in the eastern state of Orissa. The test came three days after rival Pakistan carried out a similar test of its nuclear-capable Hatf-5 (Ghauri-1) medium-range ballistic missile. The Prithvi-2 is a road-mobile, liquid-propellant missile based on the Russian S-75 Guideline surface-to-air missile. It was first tested in 1996 and entered into the Indian Air Force in 1999. (Article, Link) 

» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign

» Missile details: Prithvi-1

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