India Successfully Test Fires Nirbhay, Supersonic Cruise Missile From Integrated Test Range in Odisha

India on Monday successfully test fired long-range supersonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ from the launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur Odisha at 11:44 am. The missile with a strike range of 1,000 km is the country’s first indigenously designed and developed long-range cruise missile. The all-weather missile is developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a lab under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Nirbhay is capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads and can be launched from multiple platforms. Dhanush, India’s First Ever Indigenously Designed & Developed Artillery Gun To be Inducted Into Indian Army on April 8.

The missile covered the designated target range in 42 minutes and 23 seconds. Nirbhay is capable of covering cruising at 0.7 Mach at altitude as low as 100 metre. The missile took off vertically turning horizontally into desired direction, booster separated, wing deployed, engine started, cruised all the intended waypoints. The missile demonstrated its sea-skimming capability to cruise at very low altitudes. The entire flight was fully tracked by a chain of Electro Optical Tracking Systems, Radars and Ground Telemetry Systems deployed all along the sea coast. All the mission objectives were met. United States Raises Concerns Over India’s Deal With Russia to Procure S-400 Triumf.

The missile has a Ring Laser Gyroscope (RLG) based guidance, control and navigation system. It also has a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) along with the GPS system. It is the sixth development flight trial with objective to prove the repeatability of boost phase, cruise phase using way point navigation at very low altitudes.  The first trial of the missile was conducted on March 12, 2013, from the ITR, Chandipur. As the missile diverted from its trajectory, it was destroyed midway. Meanwhile, the second successful trial was conducted on October 17, 2014. The fifth test of the missile took place on November 7, 2017.

(Picture Courtesy: Twitter/@PIB_India)