The year was 1989 and the Prithvi missile being developed by the DRDO was in its initial test phase then. A certain component in the missile head was to be evaluated for its operation and the Indian Air Force was asked whether the missile could be carried, under slung beneath a helicopter, and dropped from a height of four kilometers at the Pokharan firing range in the desert of Rajasthan. The requirement was indeed extraordinary, as such a mission had not come the Indian Air Force’s way earlier. The test team of our premier Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment at Bangalore got down to doing the calculations and came up with an executable plan. The DRDO would need to make a 25 feet high stand to support the two odd tonne test vehicle; a Mi-17 helicopter would hover above it, pull it vertically out and then climb to the required altitude for the drop. This writer was fortunate to be asked to be the pilot and team leader for the trial.
