Prithvi-II missile

• India has successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile from a test range in Odisha as part of a user trial by the Army.

About the Missile:

• Prithvi-II is indigenously developed and is nuclear-capable surface-to-surface.
• The missile is capable of carrying warheads weighing 500 kg to 1,000 kg.
• With a strike range of 350 km, Prithvi-II is powered by twin-engines which use liquid propulsion.
• It also uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.
• Prithvi is India’s first indigenously-built ballistic missile. It is one of the five missiles being developed under the country’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.

Other variant of Prithvi:
Prithvi-I

• The Prithvi-I is a short-range, road-mobile, liquid propellant ballistic missile.
• India began developing the missile in 1983. In its current configuration, the missile is 8.56 m long, 1.1 m in diameter, and weighs 4000 kg.
• 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 engine control allows the missile to stop climbing when it reaches an altitude of 30 km, travel horizontally at this altitude, and dive on its target at an 80° angle. The missile has a minimum range of 40 km and a maximum of 150 km.
• The Prithvi-I’s first test flight was in 1988 and it officially entered service in 1994.

Prithvi-III

• The Prithvi-III is a short-range, road-mobile, ballistic missile that started development in 2000.
• This model is a departure from the liquid propulsion system of the Prithvi-I and II, as it employs a two-stage, solid propellant motor.
• The longest-ranged member of the Prithvi family of missiles.
• This missile has a range of 300 to 350 km and an accuracy of 25 m CEP.
• The missile has a 500 to 1000 kg payload, with up to a 10 to 20 kT nuclear warhead.

By: Vishal