India test-fires nuclear-capable Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile
18 Oct 2014 5:38 AM IST
Soon after Nirbhay flaunted its might in the Indian sky for more than an hour, prime minister Narendra Modi lauded scientists for successful test of the missile. He said: ‘Congratulations to our scientists on the successful test-fire of the Nirbhay missile. This is a great impetus to our defence capabilities.’
Laced with one of the best technologies, Nirbhay will bridge the critical gap in the country’s arsenal. This was the second flight trial of the missile as the maiden test had to be aborted mid way in March last year when the missile deviated from its path.
Nirbhay is 6m tall and low-altitude flying missile which can evade detection by radars. It was fired from a mobile launcher at 10.05 am and blasted off like a rocket to a height of 100m, the booster got separated as the missile turned horizontal and the wings got deployed making it fly like an aircraft.
‘At the same time, the Turbo Prop engine kicked off and provided thrust to the missile which began cruising at 0.7 Mach at an altitude of 4.8 km,’ DRDO statement reads.
Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO director General Avinash Chander described it as a great moment and said Nirbhay performed better than expected. ‘It perfectly followed the path upto 15 way points and reached the required range in four digits. He said four versions of Nirbhay - land, ship, air and submarine - would be developed and the first land attack cruise missile would be delivered in three years.’
The missile was developed by the DRDO’s aeronautical development establishment, Bangalore, and the avionics was provided by the Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad. The DRDL has also contributed to the development of the missile.
Laced with one of the best technologies, Nirbhay will bridge the critical gap in the country’s arsenal. This was the second flight trial of the missile as the maiden test had to be aborted mid way in March last year when the missile deviated from its path.
Nirbhay is 6m tall and low-altitude flying missile which can evade detection by radars. It was fired from a mobile launcher at 10.05 am and blasted off like a rocket to a height of 100m, the booster got separated as the missile turned horizontal and the wings got deployed making it fly like an aircraft.
‘At the same time, the Turbo Prop engine kicked off and provided thrust to the missile which began cruising at 0.7 Mach at an altitude of 4.8 km,’ DRDO statement reads.
Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO director General Avinash Chander described it as a great moment and said Nirbhay performed better than expected. ‘It perfectly followed the path upto 15 way points and reached the required range in four digits. He said four versions of Nirbhay - land, ship, air and submarine - would be developed and the first land attack cruise missile would be delivered in three years.’
The missile was developed by the DRDO’s aeronautical development establishment, Bangalore, and the avionics was provided by the Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad. The DRDL has also contributed to the development of the missile.
Next Story
