India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Prithvi-II nuclear missile as part of a user trial by the army from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha on Thursday.

The test was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 9:20 am.


The Prithiv-II, surface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km, is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads.

“The trial of the missile conducted by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) was fully successful,” informed ITR Director MVKV Prasad to a news agency.

The entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise.

Prithvi II is the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is now a proven technology, defence sources said. It was inducted into India’s SFC in 2003.

The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on November 14, 2014 from the same test range in Odisha.