‘Navigation system’ glitch cause of Nirbhaya failure
21 March 2013 8:09 AM IST
A possible ‘navigation system’ glitch caused the long range, sub-sonic (less than the speed of a sound wave) cruise missile, Nirbhaya, to veer off-course, thus self-destructed. Official sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said that an investigation is being held to pin-point the problem and rectify it.
Touted as the same class of missile as that of the highly successful US-built Tomahawk land attack cruise missile (LACM), Nirbhaya was seven years in the making before it was tested last week. The guidance system for long range cruise missile is primarily based on inertial navigation system, ‘incorporating state-of-the-art indigenously developed systems such as Ring Laser Gyros, accelerometers.’
The DRDO claims, ‘The missile had flown smoothly for over 200 kms in a stable cruise flight, after a flawless launch from a mobile launcher and successfully undergone critical operations such as separation of booster motor, start up of main engine, deployment of wings to name a few.’ This helped the research organisation to state that many critical and complex technologies were proven, in the process of the launch and flight.
Asked how the missile, skimming by a ‘nape of the earth’ flight profile avoid being shot down by anti-aircraft guns or shoulder fired rockets like the Stingers, the sources say that the LACM has been designed to allow to fly over a wide range of altitudes, including ‘close to the surface’ trajectory. ‘This provides the user to plan a particular flight in the best interest of the success of the mission.’
The missile, Nirbhaya, has been developed to ‘fulfill specific needs in the spectrum of surface to surface class.’ Its long range of 1,000 kms plus slow speed, and a tree-top level altitude creates a small radar cross-sectional view, or at best the same (RCS) as that of a bird, dupes the defender to ignore it.
The LACM is considered to be highly manoeuvrable flying with fins and in the cruise phase, powered by a turbo-fan engine developed by the Gas Turbine Research Esatblishment (GTRE). The DRDO is not ready to say whether the missile can have both ‘conventional’ and ‘nuclear’ warheads. In response to the question, the sources say, ‘As of now, the aim is to develop a platform capable of delivering required payload to a pre-defined target with required precision, after following a stable and sustained pre-determined cruise flight, and demonstrate various technologies associated with such a flight.’
HOW IT HAPPENED
Touted as the same class of missile as that of the highly successful US-built Tomahawk land attack cruise missile (LACM), Nirbhaya was seven years in the making before it was tested last week. The guidance system for long range cruise missile is primarily based on inertial navigation system, ‘incorporating state-of-the-art indigenously developed systems such as Ring Laser Gyros, accelerometers.’
The DRDO claims, ‘The missile had flown smoothly for over 200 kms in a stable cruise flight, after a flawless launch from a mobile launcher and successfully undergone critical operations such as separation of booster motor, start up of main engine, deployment of wings to name a few.’ This helped the research organisation to state that many critical and complex technologies were proven, in the process of the launch and flight.
Asked how the missile, skimming by a ‘nape of the earth’ flight profile avoid being shot down by anti-aircraft guns or shoulder fired rockets like the Stingers, the sources say that the LACM has been designed to allow to fly over a wide range of altitudes, including ‘close to the surface’ trajectory. ‘This provides the user to plan a particular flight in the best interest of the success of the mission.’
The missile, Nirbhaya, has been developed to ‘fulfill specific needs in the spectrum of surface to surface class.’ Its long range of 1,000 kms plus slow speed, and a tree-top level altitude creates a small radar cross-sectional view, or at best the same (RCS) as that of a bird, dupes the defender to ignore it.
The LACM is considered to be highly manoeuvrable flying with fins and in the cruise phase, powered by a turbo-fan engine developed by the Gas Turbine Research Esatblishment (GTRE). The DRDO is not ready to say whether the missile can have both ‘conventional’ and ‘nuclear’ warheads. In response to the question, the sources say, ‘As of now, the aim is to develop a platform capable of delivering required payload to a pre-defined target with required precision, after following a stable and sustained pre-determined cruise flight, and demonstrate various technologies associated with such a flight.’
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The missile had flown smoothly for over 200 kms in a stable cruise flight, after a flawless launch from a mobile launcher and successfully undergone critical operations such as separation of booster motor
- Touted as the same class of missile as that of the highly successful US-built Tomahawk land attack cruise missile (LACM), Nirbhaya was seven years in the making before it was tested last week
- The guidance system for long range cruise missile is primarily based on inertial navigation system, ‘incorporating state-of-the-art indigenously developed systems such as Ring Laser Gyros, accelerometerson
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