DRDO Flight-Tests Pralay Quasi-Ballistic Missile off Odisha

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out a successful flight-test of the quasi-ballistic missile Pralay on 5 November 2026. The missile was fired from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, which lies off the coast of Odisha, at about 1110 hrs. Each of the objectives set for the trial was met in full.

How the trial was tracked

The flight was recorded by range instruments positioned by the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. It was the data gathered by those instruments that confirmed the missile had done everything the trial was designed to check. The launch was carried out under user evaluation trials, the stage at which the armed forces themselves examine a system before it is taken into service. Senior officials of DRDO, representatives of the defence industry and officers of the defence forces were present to watch it.

Who built the missile

Pralay has been developed within the country by Research Centre Imarat at Hyderabad, working together with other DRDO laboratories. The system itself has been produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited, one of the Development-cum-Production Partners on the programme. With this trial completed, the induction of the system into service has become imminent.

What the Raksha Mantri said

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, the defence forces and the industry partners on the result of the test. He said that the missile, fitted as it is with advanced technologies, would further strengthen the technological capability of the military and its operational preparedness against threats that are now emerging. Rajesh Kumar Singh, who serves as Defence Secretary, as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and as Chairman of DRDO, congratulated all the teams associated with the flight-test.

Points worth remembering

Three details are the ones an examiner is likely to pick. The first is the launch site, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the Odisha coast, paired with the tracking agency, the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. The second is the pairing of the developer, Research Centre Imarat at Hyderabad, with the producer, Bharat Dynamics Limited. The third is the class of the weapon, which is quasi-ballistic rather than ballistic or cruise. Taken together, they make Pralay an indigenously developed system that is now on the verge of entering service.