Indian Navy successfully test fires Dhanush missile: All you need to know

India successfully test fired one of its nuclear-capable ballistic missiles from a Naval ship off the coast of Odisha.

Here are 11 key points you need to know:

• Dhanush, the missile, has been launched from INS Subhadra (P51) in the Bay of Bengal

• The Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the defence force organised the launch at the Chadipur Integrated Test Range in Odisha

• The missile is a surface-to-surface variant of the Prithvi III missiles

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had developed both Dhanush and Prithvi

• Dhanush has a tested range of around 350 kilometre where it can carry a payload of 1,000 kilograms. It can also carry a 500-kilogram warhead for 600 kilometres and a 250-kilogram warhead for 750 kilometres

• The surface-to-surface missile can also be used as a ship-to-ship warhead, capable of blasting any naval threat

• The 8.5-metre long missile has been successfully test-fired thrice before - on October 5 2012, November 23 2013 and April 9 2015

• The missile can be used as an anti-naval fleet weapon as well as for destroying land-based targets depending on the range

• The Dhanush missile is one of the five nuclear-capable missiles that have been developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme

• The word 'dhanush' is a Sanskrit word for a bow. The missile is so named because of its precision and impact

• The missile will soon be commissioned to the Indian Navy, which will further strengthen the Naval fleet of the country.

Source: