| Prithvi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Short Range Ballistic Missile |
| Place of origin |  India |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1994 (Prithvi I) |
| Used by | Indian Army Indian Air Force Indian Navy |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) |
| Produced | February 25, 1988 (Prithvi I) January 27, 1996 (Prithvi II) April 11, 2000 (Dhanush) January 23, 2004 (Prithvi III) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 4400 kg (Prithvi I) 4600 kg (Prithvi II) 5600 kg (Prithvi III) |
| Length | 9 m (Prithvi I) 8. A short-range ballistic missile ( SRBM) is a Ballistic missile with a range of about 1000 km or less India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Indian Army (Bharatiya Thalsena भारतीय थाल्सेना is one of the armed forces of India and has the responsibility for land-based The Indian Air Force (Devanāgarī भारतीय वायु सेना IAST Bhartiya Vāyu Senā is the air arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO) ( Hindi: रक्षा अनुसंधान एवं विकास संघठन, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU of the Government of India and is headquartered in Hyderabad India. 56 m (Prithvi II, Prithvi III) |
| Diameter | 110 cm (Prithvi I, Prithvi II) 100cm (Prithvi III) |
| Engine | Single Stage liquid fuel dual motor(Prithvi I, Prithvi II , Single Stage Solid Motor (Prithvi III) |
| Operational range | 150 km (Prithvi I) 250 km (Prithvi II) 350 - 600 km (Prithvi III) |
| Guidance system | strap-down inertial guidance |
| Launch platform | 8 x 8 Tatra Transporter Erector Launcher |
Prithvi (Sanskrit: पृथ्वी, pṛthvī "Earth") is a tactical surface-to-surface, short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed by DRDO of India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Prithvi ( Sanskrit: pṛthvī, also pṛthivī) is the Hindu Earth and Mother Goddess. A surface-to-surface missile (also ground-to-ground missile, SSM or GTGM) is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held vehicle mounted trailer mounted A ballistic missile is a Missile that follows a Sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead to a predetermined target The Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO) ( Hindi: रक्षा अनुसंधान एवं विकास संघठन, India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP was an Indian Ministry of Defence program for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles including
Contents |
Development and History
The Government of India launched the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program in 1983 for achieving self sufficiency in the development and production of wide range of Ballistic Missiles, Surface to Air Missiles etc. The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP was an Indian Ministry of Defence program for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles including
Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the Program. DRDO earlier attempted to reverse engineer SA-2 Surface-to-air Missile under Project Devil. The Prithvi is said to have its propulsion technology derived from the SA-2 surface-to-air missile. The dual liquid engine of Prithvi I might have been derived from scaling down of 30 ton Valiant Engine and scaling up of V-755 engine used by SA-2 surface-to-air missile. [1]
Variants make use of either liquid or both liquid and solid fuels. Developed as a battlefield missile, it could carry a nuclear warhead in its role as a tactical nuclear weapon. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion.
Variants
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. [2]
- Prithvi I - Army Version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000kg)
- Prithvi II - Air Force Version (250 km range with a payload of 500kg)
- Prithvi III - Naval Version (350 km range with a payload of 500kg)
- Dhanush- Dhanush is reportedly a naval version of Prithvi which can be launched from Ships. [3]. Some sources claim that Dhanush is a System consisting of stabilization platform and missiles, which has the capability to launch both Prithvi II and Prithvi III from Ships[1] while others report that Dhanush is a variant of Prithvi-II Ballistic Missile.
Over the years these specifications underwent a number of changes. While the codename Prithvi stands for any missile inducted by India into its armed forces in this category, the later developmental versions are codenamed as Prithvi II and Prithvi III.
Description
Prithvi I
Prithvi I class was a single stage liquid-fuelled surface-to-surface missile having a maximum warhead mounting capability of 1000 kg, with a range of 150 km. It has an accuracy of 10 - 50 metres and can be launched from Transporter erector launchers. A transporter erector launcher ( TEL) is a vehicle with an integrated prime mover that can carry elevate to firing position and launch one or more Missiles This class of Prithvi missile was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994. The Indian Army (Bharatiya Thalsena भारतीय थाल्सेना is one of the armed forces of India and has the responsibility for land-based
Prithvi II
Prithvi II class is also a single stage liquid-fuelled missile having a maximum warhead mounting capability of 1000kg, but with an extended range of 250 kilometres (155 statute miles). It was developed with the Indian Air Force being the primary user. The Indian Air Force (Devanāgarī भारतीय वायु सेना IAST Bhartiya Vāyu Senā is the air arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the It was first test-fired on January 27, 1996 and the development stages were completed in 2004. The Prithvi II class of missiles are in the process of induction by the Indian Airforce.
Prithvi III
Prithvi III class (codenamed Sagarika meaning Oceanic)[4] is a two-stage surface-to-surface missile in the developmental stages. The first stage is solid fuelled with a 16 metric ton force (157 kN) thrust motor. The unit kilogram-force ( kgf, often incorrectly just kg) or kilopond ( kp) is defined as the Force exerted by Earth's gravity The newton (symbol N) is the SI derived unit of Force, named after Isaac Newton in recognition of his work on Classical The second stage is liquid fuelled. The missile can carry a 1000 kg warhead to a distance of 350 km and a 500 kg warhead to a distance of 600 kilometres and a 250 kilogram warhead up to a distance of 750 kilometres. The design is developed while keeping the navy in mind.
Sagarika will be a nuclear-capable, cruise missile, capable of being mounted in ships or submarines. Considering the upward capability developments, Prithvi class of missiles could be reclassified from short-range ballistic missile to a medium range ballistic missile. The current codename of the operational variant Dhanush could pave way for the new codename Sagarika as Sagarika becomes operational. Dhanush was successfully tested on March 30, 2007. Events 240 BC - 1st recorded Perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Sagarika will be inducted into the Advanced Technology Vessel being developed for Indian Navy. Details The ATV is an SSBN and will be armed with the ballistic missiles like the Sagarika missile or the submarine variant of the 5000 km range [5]
There were a number of shortcoming in the initial version of Prithvi missiles namely, High circular error probability (CEP) of around 500 meters and volatility of the liquid-fuelled propulsion system requiring fuelling only just before launching. These shortcomings are being overcome in the latest developmental versions by incorporating of global positioning system (GPS) into the missiles to reduce the CEP to as low as 10 to 15 meters and use of solid fuel in the propulsion system. [6]
References
- ^ a b Arun Vishwakarma. PRITHVI SRBM (HTML). Bharat Rakshak. Retrieved on 2008-02-06. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio
- ^ Centre for Non Proliferation Studies Archive accessed 18 October 2006. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ DHANUSH SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRED (HTML). Ministry of Defence Press Release. Retrieved on 2008-02-05. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. “The test-fired missile Dhanush, is a naval version of Prithvi, developed by DRDO and manufactured by M/s Bharat Dynamics Limited. ”
- ^ Article in The Tribune, dated 7 September 1998, accessed 18 October 2006. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists dated September/October 2005, accessed 18 October 2006. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Prithvi 'user trial' undertaken
See Also
External Links
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