MoD press release said. Defence Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Rajesh Kumar Singh congratulated the teams associated with the successful flight-test. (Representational)THE Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday conducted a successful flight test of the quasi-ballistic missile Pralay from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha as part of its user evaluation trials. Three Pune based facilities of the DRDO have contributed in the design and development of the tactical weapons system.Pralay is an indigenously developed solid propellant quasi-ballistic missile employing modern guidance and navigation to ensure high precision. The missile is capable of carrying multiple categories of warheads against different types of targets. The maiden test of Pralay (which means widespread destruction) was conducted in December 2021. The missile is slated to be armed with a conventional warhead and will be inducted into Indian Army and Indian Air Force. As part of the ongoing user evaluation trials, the Pralay has been tested in various configurations including a salvo launch in December last year. After the completion of these trials, the missile will be ready for induction.“All the test objectives were fully met as confirmed by the test data captured by various range instruments deployed by Integrated Test Range, Chandipur.” said a statement from the Ministry of Defence. The ballistic missiles are a category of missiles that utilise projectile motion to deliver warheads. During their arched trajectories, the ballistic missiles are powered during their initial travel but later take a gravity driven path. On the other hand, quasi-ballistic missiles Pralay are a class of missiles that have low trajectory and take the ballistic trajectory but can change course and make maneuvers during the flight, if required.The system has been developed by Hyderabad based DRDO facility Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with other facilities including three Pune based labs — Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and Research & Development Establishment, Engineers (R&DE). Other facilities part of the collaborative effort are Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL).“Bharat Dynamics Limited, one of the Development-cum-Production-Partners, has produced the system. The flight-test was conducted in the presence of senior officials from DRDO, representatives from the industry and the Defence Forces, as part of user evaluation trials. With this successful test, the induction of the system has become imminent.” the MoD statement read.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, Defence Forces and industry partners on the successful flight-test. “He stated that the missile equipped with advanced technologies will further enhance the technological capabilities and operational preparedness of the military against emerging threats.” MoD press release said. Defence Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO Rajesh Kumar Singh congratulated the teams associated with the successful flight-test. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experi... Read More