New Delhi: India is set to test fire its first-ever under-sea ballistic missile at a place 10 kilometre from Visakhapatnam and join a select band of five countries equipped with the technology of nuclear deterrence.

The missile K-15, with a range of 700-km, would be test fired from a pontoon immersed in the sea as India does not have a submarine for such an exercise, official sources here said on Monday night.

Chief Controller of the Defence Research and Development S Prahlada had said recently that DRDO would need just one test to ratify the missile systems and the parameters which would form the main armament of the country's indigenous nuclear submarine expected to enter sea trials late next year.

If the test fire is successful, India would join a handful of countries the US, Russia, France and China to possess such a capability and it would considerably enhance the country's nuclear deterrence as sea-launched missiles will form crucial part of the country's second strike nuclear capability. 

Source : PTI