The first successful test flight of short-range surface-to-surface Pralay ballistic missile was conducted on Wednesday morning from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
“The new missile followed the desired quasi-ballistic trajectory and reached the designated target with high-degree accuracy, validating the control, guidance and mission algorithms,” said the ministry of defence (MoD) in a press statement.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) started working on the project to develop a short-range solid-fuel surface-to-surface missile, sometime around 2015. The missile was subsequently christened Pralay. It can hit the target at a range of 150 to 500 kilometres with an accuracy of less than 10 metres, an official said.
“All the sub-systems performed satisfactorily. All the sensors deployed near the impact point across the eastern coast, including the down-range ships, tracked the missile trajectory and captured all the events,” the MoD press statement read. The missile, which can be launched from a mobile launcher, has a guidance system that includes state-of-the-art navigation mechanisms and integrated avionics.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and associated teams on the successful flight trial of Pralay. DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy appreciated the team and said that Pralay is a new-generation surface-to-surface missile equipped with modern technologies and the induction of the weapon system will provide the necessary impetus to the armed forces.
