i think prithvi3 is solid fuelled,it is also being developed as a naval variant known as the dhanush.
yea man prithvi 3 is most probably called dhanush,
Prithvi-3
Country: India
Alternate Name: P-3
Class: SRBM
Basing: Road mobile
Length: 8.56 m
Diameter: 1.0 m
Launch Weight: 5600 kg
Payload: Single warhead, 750 kg
Warhead: Probably HE, nuclear
Propulsion: 2-stage solid
Range: 300 km
Status: Unknown
Details
The Prithvi-3 is a short-range, road mobile, solid-propellant ballistic missile. During the development of the Prithvi-3 in the in the early 1990s a liquid-propellant model was created; that project is believed to be terminated. This model is a departure from propulsion system of the Prithvi-1 and Prithvi-2. The longest-ranged member of the Prithvi family of missiles, it was most likely designed for use as a tactical weapon against Pakistan and China.
Sources indicate that the Prithvi-3 has a range of 300 km and an accuracy of 25 m CEP. It is fueled by a two-stage solid-propellant. The missile has a 500 to 1000 kg payload, with a 10 to 20 kT nuclear warhead. It is also reported that the Prithvi-3 uses 4 fixed tail fins in order to maneuver within the lower atmosphere. Its range and payload are not sufficient to be used against strategic targets, although its high accuracy and mobility are ideal for use against military targets.(1)
The solid-propellant version of the Prithvi-3 was first tested in January 2004 with a second test in October 2004. In October the missile was launched from the Interim Test Range at Balasore, and was tracked by several ground stations including down-range stations. The missile flew what the Indian Ministry of Defence described as a "perfect trajectory, as per design projections."(2) 30 missiles were ordered in 2004 followed by an additional 54 in 2006.(3)
Footnotes
Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 42 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2005), 85-87; GlobalSecurity.org, “Prithvi,” available at
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/india/prithvi.htm, accessed on 21 May 2005.
“India Tests Prithvi III and Dhanush,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, 1 December 2004.
Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 46 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, January 2007), 53-56.
India Tests Underwater-Launched Missile
October 27, 2004 :: News
India today tested a naval variant of a nuclear capable ballistic missile with a range of 300km. The missile tested has been identified by news sources as a “Prithvi III,” and is said to be the longest range Prithvi tested thus far.
The missile’s characteristics, however, seem to indicate that it is more likely the missile known as the Dhanush, which itself had been derived from the Prithvi II. The missile launched today is said to have previously been launched from a ship, which is also true of the Dhanush.
The missile is also said to have the capability to be launched from a submarine. Today’s launch reportedly took place from a specially constructed underwater platform and canister, from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in the eastern coast state of Orissa, some 230km from the city of Bhubaneswar. The missile landed in the Bay of Bengal.
Indian and Western news services variously report that the missile consists of a single stage, and the missile reportedly has a length of 8.5 meters (28 ft) and a diameter of 1 meter. While it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead—described by some reports as “sub kiloton”—it may also carry incendiary or fragmentary munitions. Each of these dimensions and capabilities roughly correspond to those previously assigned to the Dhanush missile. The dimensions of the missile called the “Prithvi III” are not known. The missile may indeed never have been completed.
It would appear that India may have applied the signification Prithvi III to the missile previously termed Dhanush, or that the news reports are simply inaccurate.
That the missile tested is in fact the Dhanush is also suggested by an October 9 report by India’s The Statesman, that such a test was planned. (Link)
Dhanush
Country: India
Class: SRBM or SLBM
Basing: Ship or submarine launched
Length: 9.00 m
Diameter: 1.00 m
Launch Weight: 4000 kg
Payload: Single warhead, 500 kg
Warhead: nuclear, HE, submunitions
Propulsion: Single-stage liquid
Range: 250 km
Status: Development
Details
The Dhanush is a short-range, sea-based, liquid-propellant ballistic missile thought to be a variant of either the Prithvi-1 or Prithvi-2. According to unconfirmed reports, India developed the missile with European assistance, and its motor and guidance system were based on the Russian S-75 Guideline surface-to-air missile.
In its current configuration, the Dhanush variant is 9.0 m in length, 1.1 m in diameter, and weighs between 4,000 and 4,600 kg. It uses a single-stage, liquid-propellant engine, giving it a maximum range of 250 km (155 miles) with an accuracy of 50 m CEP. Its payload is a single warhead weighing up to 500 kg, only half as much as the Prithvi-1, which has a 1,000 kg payload.
The missile's warheads are nuclear, high-explosive, or submunitions. The missile can also be equipped with multiple payloads, to be dispensed by the missile during its flight. The use of high-explosive and submunition warheads enables the Dhanush to be used against airfields, manufacturing complexes, and military units, as well as enemy ships.
The deployment of Dhanush ballistic missiles as a sea-borne force will have little effect on the nuclear balance between India and Pakistan, as all of Pakistan is already vulnerable to the Indian hidden road-mobile systems. However, the Dhanush will dramatically increase the number of targets that India can strike within China, thereby significantly increasing the strength of India's deterrent force.(1)
The Dhanush program may have been used as a technology demonstrator for the Prithvi-3. The two missiles use the same launching mechanism. The Dhanush ship-launched version was first tested in April 2000, then again in December 2000, September 2001, November 2004, Decembr 2005, January 2006, and April 2007.(2
