The Hindu : Front Page : Prithvi trial put off due to technical snags

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Monday, Nov 27, 2006
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Prithvi trial put off due to technical snags

T.S. Subramanian

CHENNAI: An almost simultaneous launch of two Prithvi missiles, with one intercepting the other in mid-flight and destroying it, which should have taken place off the Orissa coast on Sunday, has been postponed due to technical snags, according to sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO sources called it "an experiment we are trying to conduct" and a forerunner to India possessing a theatrial missile defence shield.

While one Prithvi missile will take off from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, another Prithvi will be launched from the Inner Wheeler Island, both off the Orissa coast. One of the missiles will be intercepted in mid-air and destroyed.

Ground infrastructure

The shield will have elaborate ground infrastructure including a radar, a state-of-the-art control centre with a bank of computer consoles, software to control the trajectory of the missiles in flight and so on.

Prithvi is a surface-to-surface missile that can carry nuclear warheads. There are four variants of Prithvi. They are: Prithvi-I, the Army version; Prithvi-II, the Air Force version; Dhanush, the Naval version; and Prithvi-III, which can be launched from ground, a vehicle or a ship. The interceptor is the latest, fifth version.

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