A full system test firing of country’s most important nuclear missile, submarine launched ballistic missile codenamed K-15, was carried out on Tuesday.
NEW DELHI: A full system test firing of country’s most important nuclear missile, submarine launched ballistic missile codenamed K-15, was carried out on Tuesday in the waters off Vishakapatanam.
The test was not a complete success, according to dependable sources.
“We are still awaiting details to gauge the degree of success of the test,” an official spokesman for the ministry of defence told DNA.
In the absence of a nuclear submarine, the missile was launched from a submerged pontoon a few minutes before 1pm, official sources here said. If India successfully develops the ability to launch nuclear weapons from undersea it would join a select group of countries with such a capability. But there was no concrete confirmation if the test was a complete success.
Sources indicate that the missile may not have reached the intended target at over 500 kilometres.
The ability to launch nuclear missiles from a nuclear submarine is the most credible part of the nuclear triad—capability to launch nuclear weapons from sea, ground and air.
Once successfully developed, the K-15 is to be launched from India’s indigenous nuclear submarine, codenamed Advanced Technology Vessel, which is expected to start sea trials in 2009, after more than two decades of secret development.
According to military sources, “detailed data from all observation stations, including ships, satellites and helicopters are still being collated.” Some sources indicate that the “test may not have been a full success”.
The K-15 has a range of 700 kilometres and can carry a nuclear warhead. This was the first full system test of the complicated missile system.
j_josy@dnaindia.net
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