The Prithvi (Sanskrit: "Earth") I is mobile liquid-fueled 150
kilometer tactical missile currently deployed with army units. It is
claimed that this missile is equipped only with various conventional
warheads (which stay attached to the missile over the entire flight
path). The missile is of particular interest to the United States (and
potential buyers) in that has the capability of maneuvering in flight so
as to follow one of several different pre-programmed trajectories.
Based on the same design, a modified Prithvi, the Prithvi II, is
essentially a longer-ranged version of the Prithvi I except that it has a
250-kilometer range and a lighter payload. It is suspected that any
nuclear missions will be executed by the Prithvi II. Currently, the
Prithvi II has completed development and is now in production. When
fielded, it will be deployed with air force units for the purpose of
deep target attacking maneuvers against objectives such as air fields.
- Prithvi I — Army Version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000 kg)
- Prithvi II — Air Force Version (250 km range with a payload of 500 kg)
- Prithvi III — Naval Version (350 km range with a payload of 500 kg)
The Prithvi missile project encompassed developing 3 variants for use
by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The initial
project framework of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
outlines the variants in the following manner. in October 2009 India
conducted 2 simultenous user trials of 350 km extended range Prithvi II
to be used for strategic purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment