RAS question
The Prithvi-II missile, deployed by the Indian Air Force, has a range of approximately:
Correct answer: (A) 350 km.
Prithvi-II, the Indian Air Force version of the Prithvi missile, has an approximate range of 350 km.
Explanation
Prithvi-II is the Indian Air Force version of the Prithvi missile, and its enhanced range is approximately 350 km. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Defence describes Prithvi-II as an indigenously developed, surface-to-surface, nuclear-capable missile with a strike range of 350 km, launched by a Strategic Forces Command unit in a training exercise. That matches option A, not the shorter Prithvi-I range or the older Prithvi-II figure. RAS usually tests these variant details: Prithvi-II uses liquid propulsion, carries a payload of about 500-1,000 kg, and was inducted into the Strategic Forces Command in 2003. So the decisive identification marker is the IAF-linked Prithvi-II range: 350 km.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 500 km is wrong because these Prithvi variant facts do not assign a 500 km range to Prithvi-II or to any Prithvi variant here.
- (C) 150 km is wrong because it is the range of Prithvi-I, the Army version, not Prithvi-II.
- (D) 250 km is wrong because it refers to the original Prithvi-II range, whereas the tested enhanced range is approximately 350 km.
Concept
This tests defence technology under Science and Technology, especially missile variants, service association and range. RAS often repeats such facts because they connect Indian strategic capability with DRDO-linked indigenous systems.