India test fires Prithvi-II, Dhanush successfully

• India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC), which handles missiles with nuclear warheads, fired Dhanush and Prithvi-II missiles on Friday within a gap of an hour, establishing the readiness of India's nuclear deterrence systems. Both Dhanush and Prithvi-II are surface-to-surface missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.
• They are products of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The twin-success, coming in the wake of the DRDO firing an interceptor on March 6 to bring down an "enemy" ballistic missile in mid-flight, has boosted the morale of the DRDO missile technologists.
• Dhanush and Prithvi-II were launched in a similar salvo mode on March 27, 2010.

There are Army, Navy and Air Force versions of Prithvi, which is a single-stage missile that uses liquid propellants. Both Dhanush, the Naval version and Prithvi-II can carry nuclear warheads weighing 500 kg each. The stabilisation platforms of Dhanush-based ships enable its launching even during rough sea.