An island range off Odisha, a Hyderabad laboratory and a Bharat Dynamics line: how Pralay was built and proved

Background

Pralay is an indigenously developed quasi-ballistic missile of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The design work was done at the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, with other DRDO laboratories joining in, and the missile system has been manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), one of the development-cum-production partners. The latest flight test was carried out from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast as part of user evaluation trials. Data for the trial was captured by range instruments deployed by the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, which the Defence Ministry said confirmed that all test objectives were met. A user evaluation trial is the stage at which the armed forces themselves assess a weapon, and the Ministry has said that induction has now become imminent, which means the missile is not yet in service. The test was watched by senior DRDO officials and by representatives of the defence industry and the armed forces. The Defence Minister said the missile carries advanced technologies that would add to the technological capability and operational preparedness of the military. The Defence Secretary, who is also DRDO Chairman, congratulated the teams associated with the flight test.