Source : India Today
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| Pralay Short Range Tactical Quasi Ballistic Missile (File Photo) |
The Defence Ministry has cleared a project to buy 120 Pralay tactical ballistic missiles for the armed forces, which will be deployed along the China border. This is the first time in the history of the service that ballistic missiles have been cleared by the government for use in tactical operations.
“The project to create a rocket force has received a boost as the proposal to buy around 120 Pralay ballistic missiles has been cleared by a high-level defence ministry meeting,” top government sources told India Today.
The missiles are now being mass-produced and are expected to be ready for operational service in the near future, they said.
The project would provide a significant boost to the armed forces’ efforts to develop a strategic rocket force, as advocated by the late Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat.
Recently, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar had stated that the late Gen Bipin Rawat was working on the creation of a rocket force to counter enemies on the border. The missile was successfully tested twice on two consecutive days last December, and the forces have been working towards its acquisition and induction ever since. Pralay, which has a range of 150 to 500 kilometres, is propelled by a solid-propellant rocket motor and other novel technologies.
The missile guidance system includes state-of-the-art navigation and integrated avionics. “Pralay is a quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile. The advanced missile has been developed in a way to be able to defeat interceptor missiles. It has the ability to change its path after covering a certain range midair,” sources said.
Sources further said that such missiles give a tremendous capability to own troops to completely destroy or take out enemy air defence sites or similar high-value targets.
