Except perhaps for some Prithvi short range ballistic missile (SRBM) units, India’s pool of ballistic missiles (BMs) are essentially meant for strategic strike purposes.India is all set to conduct the maiden test of its brand new surface-to-surface tactical Short Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) developed under a classified project, code-named Pralay. Elaborate preparation is underway as the missile will be flight tested from a canister mobile launcher any time between September 20 and 22 from a defence test facility off Odisha coast.
As the missile has to follow a manoeuverable trajectory, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has planned to evacuate people residing in three km area of the launching complex. This is for the first time that people are being evacuated from a large area.
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A defence official on Friday told ‘The Express’ that the home-grown missile Pralay can be comparable with China’s Dongfeng 12 and Russia’s 9K720 Iskander, both short-range tactical ballistic missiles.
“The experimental trial is aimed at validating the technologies incorporated in the system for the first time and gauging the fire power. If weather permits, the missile will be test fired as scheduled,” he told this paper over phone from New Delhi.
Indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, the missile is a derivative of Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) exo-atmospheric interceptor missile, capable of destroying enemy weapons at high altitudes.Pralay, which is much faster and accurate, has a strike range of 350 km to 500 km and weighs around five tonne. With a payload of 1000 kg, it can travel a distance of 350 km. If the payload is halved, the missile will be able to hit a target as far as 500 km.
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