India tests two N-capable missiles
Sunday, 28 March 2010
BHUBANESWAR, India, Mar 27 (AFP): India successfully tested two short-range nuclear-capable missiles from two sites off its eastern coast Saturday, a defence ministry official said.
India, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, has developed a series of nuclear and conventional missile systems as part of a programme begun in 1983.
Saturday's first test was the launch of the Dhanush, which has a range of 350 kilometres (220 miles) and was fired from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off the shores of the state of Orissa.
The second missile was the Prithvi (Earth)-II, launched from Chandipur-on-Sea Integrated Test Range, 200 kilometres northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa.
"The tests were successful and met all the mission objectives," S.P.Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range, told AFP.
The Dhanush, which means bow in Hindi, is a variant of the ground-to-ground Prithvi missile, developed for the Indian navy.
India, which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, has developed a series of nuclear and conventional missile systems as part of a programme begun in 1983.
Saturday's first test was the launch of the Dhanush, which has a range of 350 kilometres (220 miles) and was fired from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off the shores of the state of Orissa.
The second missile was the Prithvi (Earth)-II, launched from Chandipur-on-Sea Integrated Test Range, 200 kilometres northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa.
"The tests were successful and met all the mission objectives," S.P.Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range, told AFP.
The Dhanush, which means bow in Hindi, is a variant of the ground-to-ground Prithvi missile, developed for the Indian navy.