| Country: |
India |
| Alternate Name: |
P-2, SS-250 |
| Class: |
SRBM |
| Basing: |
Road mobile |
| Length: |
9.00 m |
| Diameter: |
1.10 m |
| Launch Weight: |
4000-4600 kg |
| Payload: |
Single warhead, 500-1000 kg |
| Warhead: |
nuclear, HE, submunitions |
| Propulsion: |
Single-stage liquid |
| Range: |
250 km |
| Status: |
Operational |
Details
The Prithvi-2 is a short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. Similar to the Prithvi-1 in many ways, the Prithvi-2 trades a smaller warhead for a longer range. 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 first tested the Prithvi-2 in 1996. In its current configuration, the missile is 9.0 m long, 1.1 m in diameter, and weighs either 4,000 or 4,600 kg. It uses a single-stage, liquid-propellant engine, giving it a maximum of 250 km with an accuracy of 50 m CEP. Its payload consists of a single warhead weighing either 500 kg or 1000 kg. The 1000 kg payload has yet to be a confirmed carrier of all the types of warheads available to the Prithvi series. The missile's warheads are nuclear, high-explosive, or submunitions. The missile can also be equipped with multiple payloads, to be dispensed by the missile during its flight.
The Prithvi-2 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. The missile has the ability to maneuver up to 15°, extending its range into the atmosphere.
From 2002 on, the Prithvi-2 is used by the Indian Army with the overarching logistical control and support retained by the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is launched from a Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicle, designed to transport the missile along roads and railways. 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-2 missiles using Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs).1
The Prithvi-2 was first tested in 1996 and entered into the Indian Air Force in 1999.2 Further tests were conducted in June 2000, March 2001, December 2001, January 2004, and March 2004.The last public test of this missile system in November 2006 had successful results and prompted a Pakistani response in the form of a test launch of the MRBM Hatf-4. There are believed to be 70 Prithvi-2 missiles in operation along with 10 to 30 new missiles produced per year.3 This number was the overarching order for all Prithvi series missiles from 2002 on but reports suggest that the Prithvi-2 is taking up the majority of produced and delivered weaponry.4
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2007), 85-87; GlobalSecurity.org, "Prithvi," available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/india/prithvi.htm, accessed on 5 June 2008.
- Rahul Bedi, "India Ignores West and Test Firees Prithvi II," Jane's Defence Weekly, 7 February 1996.
- Damian Kemp, "India Hails Prithvi Test A Success," Jane's Defence Weekly, 25 March 2004. Lennox Volume 46, Page 86;
- "After Ghauri, Shaheen Shines in Pak," The Statesman, 30 November 2006; on LexisNexis Academic Online http://0-www.lexisnexis.com, Accessed on 5 June 2008.
India Wants Working Missile Defense in Four Years
December 4, 2006 :: AP :: News
India intends to deploy a working missile defense in four years. Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Vijay Kumar Saraswat, head of India’s missile development program, said that India is developing a “newer and faster” version of its Prithvi-2 medium-range ballistic missile. His comments came one week after India conducted its first successful test interception of a ballistic missile, using a Prithvi-2 missile to shoot down another, incoming one. According to Saraswat, the Defense Research and Development Organization plans to add an improved homing device and faster maneuverability to the Prithvi-2, which would allow it to intercept targets at an altitude below 30 kilometers (20 miles). The upgraded version, which will also be able to target aircraft, will be tested within four months, Saraswat said. Six to seven more tests will be needed over the next four years before the system could be deployed. The tests will involve firing five interceptors two seconds apart to guarantee that an incoming missile is destroyed. Saraswat predicted that the system’s success rate would be 99.8 percent. He added that India would be able produce 200 interceptor missiles a year, at a cost of 60 million rupees (US$1.3 million) each. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: India
» Missile details: Prithvi-2
India Tests Underwater-Launched Missile
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. (Link)
» Oct. 9: Dhanush trial expected soon
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Dhanush, Prithvi-2, Prithvi-3
India Tests Prithvi II Missile, Plans Agni III Test
March 19, 2004 :: London Guardian :: News
Pakistan and India continue to exchange missile tests. On Tuesday, March 9, Pakistan tested its Shaheen II nuclear capable missile. Pakistan shortly thereafter announced it would be making other tests during the year. Now today, on March 19, India responded with a test of its Prithvi II, also nuclear capable. And on March 23, India is reported to also be planning another test of its more advanced, 3000km range Agni III sometime in 2004. (Article, Link)
» Mar. 23: Wash. Times: India to test Agni III this year
» Oct. 2003: Agni III test originally postponed till January 2004
» More stories on: India, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Agni-2, Prithvi-2
