India conducts Pralay missile trials

The Pralay SSM has been developed by India to counter Pakistan's Nasr and China's Dongfeng-12 short-range missiles. (PIB)

India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted flight tests of its Pralay quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile (SSM) as a part of its user evaluation trials ahead of its planned deployment with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said two Pralay flight trials were conducted on 28 and 29 July at DRDO's Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha, on India's east coast.

According to the MoD, the trials were conducted to “validate the maximum and minimum range capability” of the Pralay missile. “The missiles precisely followed the intended trajectory and reached the target point with pin-point accuracy, meeting all the test objectives,” it said. The MoD added that Pralay's performance in the trials was validated through flight data captured by tracking sensors deployed on a ship positioned near the designated impact point.

The Pralay SSM has been developed by the DRDO's Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad. State-owned defence firms Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), based in Hyderabad, and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), headquartered in Bangalore, have also contributed to the weapon's development and production.

The MoD described Pralay as a solid-fuel propelled “quasi-ballistic missile” that can be quipped with different types of warheads to neutralise targets. The missile features “state-of-the-art guidance and navigation”, the MoD said but did not elaborate.

The Indian government formally approved Project Pralay in March 2015 at a cost of INR3.32 billion (USD38 million). The MoD cleared the acquisition of 120 Pralay missiles for the Indian Armed Forces in January 2023.

Janes