Surface-to-Surface Missile Developed, Tested, Gandhi Says
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said India today fired a surface-to-surface missile developed in his country, making it the fifth nation in the world to produce such a weapon.
Gandhi told a cheering Parliament the Prithvi-class missile launched from Sriharikota Space Center in Andhra Pradesh state, 1,020 miles south of New Delhi flawlessly completed a 150-mile flight and plunged into the Bay of Bengal.
India is in the midst of its largest ever military buildup to meet a perceived threat from neighbors Pakistan and China.
India detonated a nuclear device in 1974, but denies it possesses any nuclear weapons. Defense experts said the missile could be used as a nuclear delivery system, but believe it would be used in conventional roles, such as attacking strategic installations behind enemy lines.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
