| Country: |
India |
| Alternate Name: |
P-2, Prithvi 2 |
| 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 |
| In Service: |
2004 |
Details
The Prithvi SS-250 is a short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propellant ballistic missile. Similar to the Prithvi SS-150 in many ways, the Prithvi SS-250 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.(1)
India first tested the Prithvi SS-250 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. It uses an improved liquid-propellant over its predecessor. Its payload consists of a single warhead weighing between 500 and 1000 kg. Potentially, if carrying a 1000 kg payload, the missile could probably be fitted to any of the warheads developed for the Prithvi SS-150, but it would have a reduced range. The missile's primary warheads are nuclear, high-explosive, or submunitions. The missile can also be equipped with multiple payloads, to be dispensed by the missile during flight.
The Prithvi SS-250 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.
In 2002 management of the Prithvi SS-250 was shifted from the Indian Air Force to the Indian Army, though the IAF still provides target data. The Indian Army transports and launches the missiles from Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) vehicles, designed to transport the missile along roads and railways. Its short range and low payload prevent it from being used against most strategic targets. However, the missile's high accuracy enables it to target enemy military targets effectively, making it a battlefield weapon.
Development tests on the Prithvi SS-250 began in 1992 and continued through 2004. Regular production began around 2002. Since being deployed in 2004, the missile has been tested several times. A public test of the missile system in November 2006 prompted a Pakistani response in the form of a test launch of the MRBM Hatf-4.(2) There are believed to be about 70 Prithvi SS-250 missiles in operation.(1)
Footnotes
- Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems, Issue 50, ed. Duncan Lennox, (Surrey: Jane's Information Group, January 2009), 57-60.
- "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.
Successful Indian Intercept Test
July 26, 2010 :: AP :: News
India conducted a successful missile intercept test over the Bay of Bengal today. The target, probably a Prithvi-II, was intercepted at an altitude of 15 km. This successful intercept follows a botched attempt at an identical test in March of this year, when both the target and the interceptor malfunctioned. This is an important step as India continues to develop a fairly advanced indigenous missile defense architecture, even while her offensive ICBM capability continues to fall behind neighbor China's. (Article, Link)
» India Claims Successful Missile Interceptor Test (2006)
» India Making Progress on Indigenous BMD (2009)
» Missile details: Prithvi SS-250
Indian Missile Defense Test Fails
March 16, 2010 :: The Jakarta Post :: News
On Sunday, India was scheduled to conduct another test in its ongoing development and evaluation of its indigenous BMD system. A Prithvi-II missile was launched from the Indian state of Orissa and an intercept was supposed to launch from an island off the coast nearby. The intercept missile, however, failed to launch.
This test follows a successful intercept in March of last year. Despite setbacks and slow progress in its offensive ballistic missile capabilities (especially compared to regional ballistic missile hegemon China), India has been making solid progress in a fairly advanced and home grown ballistic missile defense program.
Update: It appears that the malfunction was not limited to the interceptor. UPI reports that the Prithvi test target veered off course as well. (Article, Link)
» More Coverage
» India Claims Successful Missile Interceptor Test (2006)
» India Making Progress on Indigenous BMD (2009)
» Missile details: Prithvi SS-250
India Making Progress on Indigenous BMD
June 24, 2009 :: News
March 7 marked India's latest test of its anti-ballistic missile system. The test was one of three successful consecutive tests in recent years, and indicates a promising future for an indigenous BMD system. India's first test demonstrated the system's ability to intercept an incoming Prithvi-II missile at an altitude of 48 km with a two-stage Pradyumna interceptor; the second test was a successful intercept of a Prithvi-II at 15km by a single-stage interceptor; the third and most recent test demonstrated the capability of a new and more sophisticated Pradyumna to destroy its target at an altitude of 75 km.
This high success rate is especially impressive considering the much higher failure rates associated with India's trials of its short and medium-range ballistic missiles. The Indian government's Defense Research and Development Organization didn't publicly acknowledge the existence of a missile defense program until 2006, although at the time it was admitted that the program had been underway for quite some time. Even including these few years of secret development, India's missile defense program is progressing rapidly, with VK Saraswat—the current head of missile development at the DRDO—claiming that India's missile defense weapon testing could be complete by 2010. This speed seriously outstrips India's development of an offensive ballistic missile force.
In addition to speed, India's program shows signs of significant sophistication, especially compared to her possible regional adversaries. A case in point is China. While China's offensive ballistic missile program is more advanced than India's, it does not possess a comparable BMD capability. China's surface-to-air missiles could intercept ballistic missiles, but only up to an altitude of 30km. Furthermore, it is thought that China's BMD program falls far behind India's in the area of research and development, particularly in the area of software development and programming, key and indispensable components of any functional missile defense system.
As regional powers such as China and North Korea proceed with vigorous ballistic missile programs, it will be interesting to watch the progress of India's development of a potentially robust indigenous ballistic missile defense system. (Article, Link)
» Missile details: Prithvi SS-250
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 SS-250
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 SS-250, 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 SS-250
