DRDO makes a hat-trick with Agni-I, Dhanush, Prithvi-II launches

The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has scored three consecutive successes in two days—the launch of Agni-I on Sunday, Dhanush and Prithvi-II on Saturday, all at three different locations.

The nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Agni-I ballistic missile with a range of 700 km was successfully flight-tested from the Wheeler’s Island off the Orissa coast on Sunday, while the Nuclear-capable ship-launched Dhanush and surface-to-surface Prithvi-II were successfully test-fired in salvo mode from two locations off the Orissa coast.

The Agni-I test carried out by Strategic Forces Command personnel met all the mission objectives and was one of the best-ever launches, according to officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Similarly the Dhanush and Prithvi-II missiles achieved their full range and conformed to the mission’s parameters, both systems zeroing in on pre-designated targets with a high degree of accuracy, the DRDO said.

The Agni missile was blasted off at 1.07 hrs on Sunday from a mobile launcher was tracked by all the radars along the coast and two ships as it splashed down towards the pre-designated target in the Bay of Bengal with precision and accuracy after a 500-second flight. The 14-metre tall Agni-I is a single-stage, solid propelled weapon system. It has a one metre diameter and is capable of carrying a payload of 1,000 kg.

While the11-metre long Dhanush, a naval variant of Prithvi, was launched first from INS Subhadhra, anchored near Balasore, off the coast of Orissa at 5.30 a. m on Saturday, 8.5-metre-tall Prithvi-II was fired a few minutes later from Launch Complex-III at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur.

Each missile achieved its full range (Dhanush 350 km and Prithvi-II 290 km) and splashed down within a few metres of the target in the Bay of Bengal after a flight of about 500 seconds. An indigenously-developed advanced navigation and guidance system, which was tested in the two launches, provided a very high degree of accuracy, according to Defence Research and Development Organisation officials.

The Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO, V.K. Saraswat, Director, Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), P.Venugopalan, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Avinash Chander and other top DRDO scientists were present all three missions on Saturday and Sunday.

- Asian Tribune -