Subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay test fired successfully from Odisha coast

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Baleswar, Oct 17:

Indigenously developed nuclear capable, sub-sonic long range cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ was successfully test fired at 10.03 AM today from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha’s Baleswar district, reports said.

“We have achieved a great feat by successfully testing this missile. It would help immensely in future,” said B.K. Das, additional director of Integrated Test Range, Chandipur .

The sub-sonic missile has a capacity to hit targets at a distance of 1,000 km. Today’s test was  the second developmental trial of the missile, DRDO sources said.

Nirbhay, reports said, covered a distance of over 1,000 km during its 73.12 minute flight during today’s test.

DRDO is developing an air-launched version of the 1,500-km-range Nirbhay sub-sonic cruise missile which would be capable of being fired from the Air Force’s frontline Su-30MKI combat aircraft, sources said.

Sources said the missile was first test fired on March 12, 2013 from ITR and the missile’s flight had to be terminated midway as it deviated from its projected track.

Nirbhay is a different kind of missile being developed by the Aeronautical development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab in Bangalore. Nirbhay has good loitering capability, good control and guidance, high degree of accuracy in terms of impact and very good stealth features, DRDO sources said.