Indian defence gears up for a spate of missile tests

(domain-b) : Balasore, Orissa: The Indian defence establishment is gearing up for a hectic round of missile tests in the latter half of this month at the two test facilities of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Orissa coast. According to defence sources, hundreds of DRDO scientists are camping at the site.
The missiles to be test fired, according to sources, will include the land version of K-15 missile dubbed as the 'Shaurya', the surface-to-surface, short range, Prithvi-II and the medium range ballistic missile, the Agni-II..
While Shaurya is likely to be tested any time between 17-18 September, the Prithvi-II will be tested between 22-24 September followed by Agni-II on 30 September.
The 2000-km range Agni-II had developed technical snags in its previous outing at the same site, when it was being tested by the Strategic Forces Command, leading to postponement.
The 600 km 'Shaurya' is being tested for the second time.
It will be test-fired from an underground silo with a depth of nearly 30 feet at the Chandipur test facilities. The missile that was first tested in November 2008 is the land variant of submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) K-15.