Chandipur, Orissa:
A user trial of the nuclear weapons capable, surface-to-surface Prithvi-II ballistic missile in Orissa ended in an embarrassing failure as the missile failed to take off.
The nine metre-long, single stage liquid propelled missile with a maximum range of 350 kilometres was fired from a mobile launcher at 10.03 am from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea. Sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation confirmed the failure and said the missile just did not launch while the launchpad was enveloped in smoke.
There was no clear word on what caused the failure. The test was being conducted by the Strategic Forces Command.
The missile was last tested on June 18 this year, but for a shorter range of 150 kms.