Pralay quasi ballistic surface-to-surface missile will be able to defeat enemy interceptor missiles

India on Wednesday conducted maiden test of next generation short-range ballistic missile Pralay from from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, it can strike target at range up to 500 km and carry up to 1 ton warhead, sources said.

“The missile, test-fired off the Odisha coast, has met all its objectives. 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," DRDO officials said.

All sub-systems performed satisfactorily. All sensors deployed near impact point across eastern coast, including downrange ships, tracked missile trajectory & captured all events. The Missile is powered with solid propellant rocket motor &has many new technologies: DRDO officials.

On December 18, another ballistic missile, the nuclear-capable Agni-P was successfully tested from the same island off Odisha coast. The ‘Agni P’ is a two-stage cannisterised solid propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system, as per the DRDO.

The missile has a range of 150-500 km and can be launched from a mobile launcher. The missile guidance system includes state of the art Navigation System and Integrated Avionics: DRDO officials.

The test was conducted at 11.06 am. “Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and downrange ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters. The missile followed textbook trajectory, meeting all mission objectives with a high level of accuracy," the DRDO said in a statement.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and associated teams for this maiden development flight trial. He complimented DRDO for the fast track development and successful launch of modern  Surface-to-Surface missile.

Here’s everything you need to know about this new weapon in India’s arsenal:

• A tactical Short Range Ballistic Missile, Pralay has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

• ‘Pralay' is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg.

• According to an ANI report, sources said that Pralay, which is a quasi ballistic surface-to-surface missile, has been developed in a way to able to defeat interceptor missiles. It has the ability to change its path after covering a certain range mid-air.

• Pralay can be fired from a mobile launcher, and its guidance system includes state-of-the-art Navigation System and Integrated Avionics.

• The project to develop Pralay was sanctioned in March 2015 with a budget of Rs 333 crore.

• The missile is based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) Exo-Atmospheric interceptor missile from Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Program.

• The home-grown missile can be compared to China’s Dongfeng-12 and Russia’s 9K720 Iskander, both short-range tactical ballistic missile.

• Pralay missile has been tested just days after India test-fired the advanced Agni-Prime nuclear-capable ballistic missile, which has a range of 1,000-2,000 kilometres.