India Test-Fires ‘Pralay’ Quasi-Ballistic Missile Off Odisha Coast

New Delhi: In a major boost to India’s indigenous defence capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation on Thursday successfully conducted the flight test of the quasi-ballistic missile Pralay from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile was test-fired at around 11:10 AM on Thursday as part of user evaluation trials. According to the Ministry of Defence, all test objectives were fully met, as confirmed by data captured through various range instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.

Pralay is an indigenously developed, solid-propellant, canisterised surface-to-surface quasi-ballistic missile designed for high-precision strikes. It can carry different types of conventional warheads against various targets. The missile has a range of 150 kilometres to 500 kilometres and a payload capacity of 500 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms. With a 1,000 kilogram payload, it can strike up to 350 kilometres, and with a 500 kilogram payload, its range extends to approximately 500 kilometres. Powered by a two-stage solid-propellant motor, Pralay can attain a hypersonic terminal speed of Mach 5 to Mach 6.1. It uses a state-of-the-art guidance and navigation system to ensure high precision.

Unlike a regular ballistic missile that climbs high and follows a predictable arc, Pralay flies lower on a flatter trajectory and can manoeuvre mid-flight. This quasi-ballistic path makes it very difficult for enemy radars to track and for air defence systems to intercept. The missile can carry warheads including runway-denial and penetration-cum-blast types, making it a potent weapon to destroy enemy airbases, command centres and other high-value targets.

The missile has been indigenously developed by Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad along with other DRDO laboratories. 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 industry and the defence forces.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on X that DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of the indigenously developed Pralay missile off the coast of Odisha at 1110 hours. He said the test was conducted as part of user evaluation trials and successfully met all the stipulated objectives, as validated by data captured through various range instruments. He added that this successful trial marks another significant milestone in strengthening India’s indigenous defence capabilities. Defence Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman, DRDO Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh congratulated the teams associated with the successful flight test.

This was a user evaluation trial, which is the final hurdle before induction. With this successful test, the induction of Pralay into the Indian Armed Forces has now become imminent. Pralay was first tested in December 2021 and had gone through user trials at its maximum and minimum ranges in July last year.