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Hans India
a day ago
- Science
- Hans India
A proud moment in India's strategic innovation
Hyderabad: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved a milestone by conducting two consecutive successful flight-tests of the indigenously developed Pralay missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on July 28 and 29, 2025. These flight trials were part of User Evaluation Trials aimed at verifying both the minimum and maximum range capabilities of the tactical missile system. The DRDO said here on Tuesday that both missiles followed their intended trajectories with pinpoint accuracy and met all mission objectives. The missile systems' subsystems functioned flawlessly, confirmed by the extensive data recorded by various tracking sensors deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR), including ship-based instruments located near the impact zone. Pralay is a solid propellant, quasi-ballistic missile featuring advanced guidance and navigation technologies that enable high-precision targeting. It is designed to carry various types of warheads and neutralise multiple target categories. The missile system was developed by the Research Centre Imarat, in collaboration with various other laboratories of DRDO, including the Defence Research & Development Laboratory, the Advanced Systems Laboratory, and the Armament Research & Development partners Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited also played key roles, along with support from several MSMEs. The tests were witnessed by senior DRDO scientists, representatives from the Indian Air Force and Indian Army, and industry delegates. Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh commended DRDO, the Armed Forces, and industry collaborators for the accomplishment, stating that the missile—equipped with cutting-edge technologies—will significantly enhance the Armed Forces' operational readiness against emerging threats. Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, extended his congratulations to all contributing teams. He affirmed that the successful completion of this phase of flight tests marks a crucial step toward the missile system's near-future induction into the country's military arsenal. DRDO successfully test-fires indigenous Pralay missile twice on July 28 and 29, 2025
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Pralay missile ready for battlefield deployment with ability to evade enemy defence systems
BHUBANESWAR: Amid mounting cross-border tensions, another Pakistan-specific ballistic missile is allegedly ready for deployment, as the indigenously developed Pralay (literally meaning apocalypse) has cleared user validation trials during twin tests conducted over two days from a defence facility off the Odisha coast. Defence sources said two rounds of the tactical short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) were successfully test-fired from the Abdul Kalam Island-based launching complex-IV of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) on Monday and Tuesday. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the missiles precisely followed the intended trajectory, demonstrated mid-air manoeuvres and hit-to-kill accuracy with pin-point precision—meeting all the mission objectives and indicating maturity of the system for battlefield deployment. 'Two consecutive successful flight-tests of the Pralay missile were carried out as a part of user evaluation trials to validate the maximum and minimum range capability of the missile system. All subsystems performed as per expectations, which were verified using test data captured by various tracking sensors, including instruments deployed on ships positioned near the designated point of impact,' the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement. Powered by solid propellant, the canisterised Pralay employs state-of-the-art guidance and navigation to ensure high precision. The missile is capable of carrying multiple types of warheads against various targets and destroying targets up to 500 km. It weighs around five tonnes. With a payload of 1000 kg, it can travel a distance of 350 km, and if the payload is halved, the missile can allegedly hit a target as far as 500 km. Pralay is part of the country's strategic Integrated Rocket Force, a dedicated wing of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC). Comparable with China's Dong Feng-12, Russian 9K720 Iskander, US Army's Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) and South Korea's Hyunmoo-2, Pralay is designed to deceive anti-ballistic missile interceptors. 'What makes the missile unique in its class is that Pralay can fly at hypersonic speed in a quasi-ballistic trajectory and perform terminal manoeuvres to delude ballistic missile defence (BMD) of the enemy,' said a defence scientist. The MoD has already cleared orders for Pralay missiles for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The missile, which fills the gap of a conventionally armed ballistic weapon system and remains unaffected by the 'no first use' nuclear policy, will be deployed with conventional warheads along the borders. It can target radar and communication installations, command and control centres, and advanced airfields. Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat congratulated the teams and said the successful completion of this phase-1 flight test paved the way for induction of the system into the armed forces in the near future. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, the armed forces and the industry for the successful flight-tests. 'The missile equipped with modern technologies will give further technological boost to the armed forces against threats,' he said. The system has been developed by Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other DRDO labs, including Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Armament Research and Development Establishment, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), and ITR, apart from industry partners like Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited. The flight-tests were witnessed by senior scientists of DRDO, representatives of the users from the IAF and the Indian Army, as well as industry representatives. Photo caption: Pralay missile being test-fired from ITR off Odisha coast | EPS
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India successfully test-fires Prithvi-II and Agni-1 ballistic missiles from Odisha range
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel India successfully test-fired Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM), Prithvi-II and Agni-I, from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha's Chandipur, the Ministry of Defence said in an official launches took place on Thursday, during which all operational and technical parameters were tests were conducted under the aegis of the Strategic Forces July 16, India achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying two Aerial high-speed unmanned targets at high altitude in Ladakh by Akash Prime, the upgraded variant of the Akash Weapon System for the Indian weapon system is customised to operate at altitudes above 4,500 meters and has the latest upgrades, including an indigenously developed Radio Frequency seeker, as per the on the operational feedback from users, various upgrades have been made to improve the operational effectiveness, demonstrating the advantage of the ecosystem created for the indigenous weapon to the statement, Army Air Defence and DRDO, in conjunction with Defence PSUs such as Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited , and other Industry Partners, have successfully validated the indigenously designed and developed Akash Prime Weapon System The trials were done as part of the First of Production Model firing trial and will further enable timely induction and enhance the Air Defence potential in high-altitude frontiers of the country, as per the achievement carries added significance as it follows the exceptional performance of India's indigenously developed air defence systems during Operation marks a major step forward for the nation's missile development programs, which are now gaining increasing attention in the global defence to the release, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the Indian Army, DRDO, and the industry on this remarkable achievement. He described the success as a significant boost to India's Air Defence capabilities, particularly for meeting high-altitude operational to the statement, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO Samir V Kamat, congratulated the teams associated with the successful test and stated that the missile has met the country's critical air defence requirements for high altitude.
Hans India
13-07-2025
- Science
- Hans India
DRDO & IAF successfully test ‘Astra' BVRAAM
Visakhapatnam: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully carried out the flight-test of indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) 'Astra' equipped with indigenous radio frequency (RF) seeker from Su-30 Mk-I platform off the coast of Odisha. During the test fire held on Friday (July 11), two launches were carried out against high-speed unmanned aerial targets at different ranges, target aspects and launch platform conditions. In both the cases, the missiles destroyed the targets with pin-point accuracy. During the tests, all subsystems performed as per expectations, including the RF seeker which has been indigenously designed and developed by the DRDO. The flawless performance of the Astra weapon system was validated through flight data captured by range tracking instruments deployed by integrated test range, Chandipur. These successful flight tests have re-established the accuracy and reliable performance of Astra weapon system with indigenous seeker. Astra BVRAAM has a range exceeding 100-km and is equipped with state-of-the art guidance and navigation system. In addition to various laboratories of the DRDO, more than 50 public and private industries including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited have contributed towards successful realisation of the weapon system. Complimenting the DRDO, IAF and industry involved in the design and development of the RF seeker, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the successful testing of the missile with indigenous seeker is a major milestone in critical defence technology. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated all the teams involved during the successful flight-test.
United News of India
12-07-2025
- Science
- United News of India
DRDO & IAF conduct successful flight-test of indigenous BVRAAM 'Astra'
\\\\ Visakhapatnam, July 12 (UNI) Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted the flight-test of indigenous Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) 'Astra' equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker from Su-30 Mk-I platform off the coast of Odisha. During the tests yesterday, two launches were carried out against high-speed unmanned aerial targets at different ranges, target aspects, and launch platform conditions, a defence release said here today. In both cases, the missiles destroyed the targets with pinpoint accuracy. During the tests, all subsystems performed as per expectations, including the RF seeker, which has been indigenously designed & developed by DRDO. The flawless performance of the Astra weapon system was validated through flight data captured by Range Tracking instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. These successful flight tests have re-established the accuracy and reliable performance of Astra weapon systems with an indigenous seeker. Astra BVRAAM has a range exceeding 100 km and is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance and navigation systems. In addition to various laboratories of DRDO, more than 50 public and private industries, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, have contributed towards the successful realisation of the weapon system. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, IAF, and industry involved in the design and development of the RF seeker and stated that the successful testing of the missile with an indigenous seeker is a major milestone in critical defence technology. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, Dr Samir V Kamat, congratulated all the teams involved during the successful flight-test. UNI KNR AKT RKM
