India test-fires new indigenous nuclear-capable missile
Sat Nov 15, 2014 3:0PM
The Prithvi-II (Earth-II) missile blasted off from a mobile launcher at the small sea resort of Chandipur, located about 1,260 kilometers (782 miles) southeast of the capital, New Delhi, at around 10:40 a.m. (0510 GMT) on Friday.
The missile rose kilometers before it nose-dived and went down into the Bay of Bengal waters close to its pre-designated impact point.
The single-stage Prithvi-II, developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines, and is equipped with an advanced inertial navigation system.
The missile is capable of carrying 500 to1,000 kilograms of warheads.
On November 9, the Indian army successfully test-fired its medium-range nuclear-capable Agni-II (Fire-II) missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) from a mobile launcher at Wheeler Island in Odisha State.
India has routinely carried out missile tests since it first demonstrated its nuclear weapons capability in 1998. India has also been engaged in an arms race with Pakistan since the partition of the two countries in 1947.
Both neighbors have refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international regulatory pacts that restrict developing or testing nuclear weapons.
India considers the NPT as discriminatory, while Pakistan has indicated that it will not join the international treaty until its neighbor does so.
MP/HJL/SS
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