India Test Fires Underwater Ballistic Missile

India successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from an underwater platform in the Bay of Bengal Sunday.

According to reports from the Indian media, the nuclear-capable K-15, a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), took off from a pontoon and reached a distance of 435 miles, before splashing down in the waters of the Bay of Bengal near the target point. "The medium range K-15 ballistic missile was test-fired successfully today from an underwater pontoon and all parameters of the test firing were met," Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) chief V.K. Saraswat told Press Trust of India (PTI) from the undisclosed test area.

Over 10 trials had been carried out before the Sunday test fire. This is the first missile to have been fully developed by India. With the successful test-firing of an underwater missile, India has moved a step closer to achieve the nuclear triad - the ability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and below the sea.

India has also become the fifth nation to have an underwater ballistic missile. The other four countries are - the United States, Russia, France and China.

The missile can be launched from various platforms, including a 6,000-ton indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant, which is currently being developed.

Until now, India had test-fired land and aerial-launched ballistic missiles. The newly test-fired K-15 belongs to the family of underwater missiles that are being developed to be used in underwater platforms.

In April 2012, India tested its first long-range Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), Agni-V, which is able to carry a nuclear warhead. With the successful launch, India joined the nuclear club of China, Russia, France, the U.S. and the U.K., which already have long-range missiles.