India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile from a naval ship off the Odisha coast today.
“The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully tested the Dhanush missile today from a naval ship,” said M.V.K.V. Prasad, Director of the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur near here.
The surface-to-surface Dhanush, a naval variant of India’s indigenously developed ‘Prithvi’ missile, was test-fired at around 11.10 a.m. from a location in the Bay of Bengal by the SFC of the defence force.
The single-stage, liquid-propelled Dhanush has been inducted into the armed services and is one of the five missiles developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), defence sources said.
“The trial was conducted by the SFC of the Indian defence forces in co-operation with DRDO,” a defence official said.
The Dhanush missile is capable of carrying a conventional as well as a nuclear payload of 500 to 1,000 kg and can hit both land and sea-based targets.