Hyderabad, March 31, 2007 -  Dhanush, the ship-based surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads and having a range of 350 km, was successfully test-fired off the coast of Paradip in the Bay of Bengal on Friday.

Defence sources told The Hindu that the missile, a naval variant of Prithvi, was mounted on a naval ship that was anchored off the coast of Paradip and fired around 2.35 p.m. It met all the mission objectives and the ground-based radars along the coast tracked the range of the missile.

Dhanush can carry a payload of up to 500 kg and could hit sea and shore-based targets.

A Defence Ministry press release issued in Delhi said this was the fourth test and three earlier flight trials were conducted during the development phase.

Dhanush gives the Indian Navy the capability to launch a missile on enemy's targets with great precision, it added.

An naval team, trained by the DRDO, conducted the flight trial.