India successfully test-fires 3,500 km range K-4 ballistic missile

New Delhi: India today successfully test-fired 3,500 km strike range nuclear-capable submarine-launched K-4 ballistic missile off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. The missile under development by DRDO will be equipped on indigenous INS Arihant-class nuclear-powered submarines of the Navy.

The test was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organsiation (DRDO) from a submerged pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast around noon.

Missile launch

“The test was conducted from a submerged pontoon and has met the desired parameters. A pontoon simulates the situation of a launch from a submarine,” an official source said on condition of anonymity.

Reports have said that the K-4’s circular error of probability (the radius of the missile’s point of impact which is also a measure of the efficacy of its guidance systems) was 40 meters or less. This makes it ideal to strike targets from stand-off ranges.

Exclusive club of powers

In November 2018, India had announced that its first nuclear armed submarine Arihant had successfully completed its first deterrence patrol, heralding India’s entry into an exclusive club of powers with land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons delivery platforms. Though dubbed the technology demonstrator, analysts had been of the view that the 6,000-tonne Arihant with a range of about 750km nevertheless sent a powerful signal to Pakistan and China that New Delhi’s underwater nuclear deterrence was “credible”, potent and functional.

Nuclear tests under Pokhran-II

In 1998, India conducted nuclear tests under Pokhran-II and in 2003, declared its nuclear doctrine based on credible minimum deterrence and an NFU policy while reserving the right of massive retaliation if struck with nuclear weapons first.