Know more about India's first undersea ballistic missile, Sagarika

New Delhi: On 26 February 2008, India test fired its first undersea ballistic missile, Sagarika, from a pontoon, 10 km off the coast of Visakhapatnam. It proved that India has acquired the capability to launch missiles from underwater. The Sagarika missile with a range of 700km, will equip the country's indigenous nuclear submarine, which finds India joining the US, Russia, France and China that also possess this capability. Moreover, the successful test firing enhances the country's nuclear deterrence, as sea-launched missiles will form a crucial part of the country's second strike nuclear capability. It can be equipped with nuclear or conventional warheads, and has the latest technologies in aerodynamics, control and guidance and navigation. The Sagarika programme is driven by India's long-term goals to secure a sea-based, second-strike nuclear capability.Development of this missile started in the late 1990s with the goal of building a submarine-launched ballistic missile for use with the Indian Navy nuclear-powered Arihant class submarines.Sagarika has a length of 10 metres, diameter of 0.74 metres, weighs 17 tonnes and can carry a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms over 700 kilometres. It was developed at the DRDO's missile complex in Hyderabad.The development of the underwater missile launcher, known as Project 420, was completed in 2001 and handed over to the Indian Navy for trials. The missile launcher is developed at Hazira in Gujarat. The Sagarika missile began integration with India's nuclear-powered Arihant class submarine that began harbor trials on the 26 July 2009.By 2008, the missile was successfully test fired seven times, and tested to its full range up to four times. The tests of February 26, 2008, were conducted from a submerged pontoon 50 metres beneath the surface off the coast of Visakhapatnam.A land-based version of the K-15 Sagarika was successfully test-fired on November 12, 2008.A full range test of the missile was done on 11 March 2012.The twelfth and final development trial of the missiles was conducted on 27 January 2013. According to V.K. Saraswat, the missile was again tested for its full range of 700 km and met all its objectives with a single digit impact-accuracy.The test will be followed by integration of the missile with INS Arihant.