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India tests nuclear-capable ballistic missile Prithvi-II

Prithvi-II has flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5 kilometers and it is capable of hitting the designated target with a few meters of accuracy

Prithvi II missile (archive) AP Photo

Prithvi II missile (archive)

NEW DELHI, March 28. /ITAR-TASS/. India has test-fired on Friday its nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Prithvi-II making it the fifth successful test launch of this type of weapon over the past six months, The Times of India daily reported.

The missile, which is capable of carrying the weight of nuclear warheads of up to 1,000 kilograms (over 2,200 lbs), was fired from a mobile launcher at the Chandipur firing range in the state of Odisha and it covered its maximum travelling range of 350 kilometers (217 miles).

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"It was a perfect launch. It met all mission objectives," the daily cited Chandipur test range director MVKV Prasad as saying.

Prithvi-II is India's first indigenously-built ballistic missile. It was developed under the country’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), which the country launched in 1983, and inducted into India’s Armed Forces in 2003.

Prasad added that “the Strategic Forces Command [SFC] of the Indian Army conducted the test as part of a regular training exercise."

The missile is boosted by liquid propulsion twine engines and uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory. Prithvi-II has flight duration of 483 seconds and a peak altitude of 43.5 kilometers and it is capable of hitting the designated target with a few meters of accuracy.

The previous test launch of the missile was conducted in January from the same firing range.

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