The trial termed as 'training exercise' was
conducted at about 11.10 AM from an undisclosed location in the Bay of
Bengal in between Paradeep and Gopalpur. The test was carried out by the
Navy personnel while the DRDO provided all logistic supports to track
its flight path.Defence sources said the ship-launched Dhanush
missile was test fired during its final operational configuration from a
warship anchored somewhere about 45 km offshore Puri. Another warship
provided all essential supports for the test. It was the 10th test of
the anti-ship missile.
Speaking to 'The New Indian Express'
Director of Integrated Test Range (ITR) MVKV Prasad said the mission was
fantastic. "It was a user trial and has met all the mission objectives.
All the events occurred as expected and were monitored by the range
sensors. It test was 100 percent successful," he said.
'Dhanush',
the indigenously developed naval version of the 'Prithvi' ballistic
missile has a striking range upto 350 km and can carry single warhead,
conventional or nuclear up to 500 kg.
The entire flight path of
the missile was smooth in accordance with pre-decided coordinates. The
mission parameters like elevation, trajectory, azimuth, flight path and
stage separation were rightly validated.
Developed by the DRDO
under its ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme
(IGMDP), the missile is about 8.53 metres in length and 0.9 metre in
diameter besides its launch weight about 4.4 tonnes. This single stage
missile uses liquid propellant and can be used as an anti-ship weapon as
well as for destroying land targets depending on the range.
The
missile maintained its intended trajectory before plunging down the sea.
The test launch was tracked from its take-off to impact point through
an integrated network of sophisticated radars and electro-optic
instruments for data analysis. All the mission sequencing events
occurred as expected.
Dhanush is under production after its
successful completion of developmental trials and it has already been
inducted into the Armed Forces. The ministry of defence had made
elaborate preparations for the test. A cautionary notice was issued to
aviators and mariners to keep away from the area of splashdown in the
sea.
