India test-fires undersea missile

BALASORE: (visakeo)-India on Tuesday test-fired its first-ever undersea nuclear-capable ballistic missile off the eastern coastal city of Visakhapatnam, catapulting it to the select band of five countries - Russia, the US, France, Britain and China - equipped with the technology.The missile, K-15, with a range of 700 km, was test-fired from a 'Pontoon' immersed in the sea at 12.58 pm.The DRDO awaited the final evaluation from warships in the sea. This was the first full-fledged test of the missile, of which defence scientists had earlier carried out two dry runs.The test was undertaken from a submerged 'Pontoon' as India does not have a submarine capable to undertake firing of such missiles. It would need just one test to ratify the missile which would form the main armament of the country's indigenously- made nuclear submarine which is expected to enter sea trials late next year.

Earlier, the country also had joined the elite club of nations in air defence system along with the US, Russia and Israel after successfully testing its two versions of antiballistic missiles. 'Pontoon was positioned inside the sea, about 8 km from Visakhapatnam coastline and the missile was fired from 50 m deep,' said a source at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-Sea. The 700 km range missile, formerly known as Sagarika, was test fired twice but had reported 'partial' success as trajectory deviation was noticed during its flight. 'But Tuesday's test was a success as a rectified version was tested,' the source said, adding that the final evaluations from the warships stationed in the sea are awaited.Developed by DRDO, K-15 is about 8.5 metres long with one metre diameter. Its launch weight is about 7 tonnes.