BALASORE: The DRDO is likely to conduct the much-awaited crucial test of submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) K-15 from an underwater platform off Andhra Pradesh coast on Sunday.The test was rescheduled from March 4 as the communication alignment could not take place properly due to high tide in the sea. As part of the coordinated mission, the missile will be test-fired from a pontoon (replica of a submarine) positioned nearly 20 feet undersea. An official said the cables for communication between the pontoon and a ship (makeshift control room) could not be laid due to heavy current in the sea and high tide on full moon day. The DRDO has, in fact, prepared for twin trials of this indigenously built nuclear capable missile. The second missile will be test-fired within seven days of the trial of the first one. The test seems crucial for India since the missile could not be tested last year even after a series of attempts. A scheduled test was deferred several times due to technical glitches in the missile system.The DRDO is eyeing for the success of the missile as only Russia, the USA, France, UK and China have been successful in firing nuclear tipped missiles from air, land and undersea.Having a strike range of about 700 km, the K-15 missile is 10 metres in length and a metre in diameter. Its launch weight is about 10 tonnes. After its induction, the missile will equip the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine ANS Arihant.A scientist said K-15 combines aspects of both cruise and ballistic missiles, which use multiple-stage rockets to exit the atmosphere and re-enter in a parabolic trajectory.
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