NIRBHAY CRUISE MISSILE -
DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News: DRDO successfully test fires
indigenous long range subsonic cruise missile
What's in the news?
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The Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of a “long range subsonic
indigenously developed cruise missile” from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in
Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
Key takeaways:
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The missile followed the desired path using
waypoint navigation and demonstrated very low altitude sea-skimming flight.
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The details or the specifications of the missile
were not mentioned but the missile looked a lot similar to the Nirbhay subsonic
cruise missile that has been tested several times.
Nirbhay Cruise Missile:
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It is a long-range
subsonic cruise missile.
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It is India’s first
indigenously-produced cruise missile.
Developed by:
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The missile was developed by the Bengaluru-based
Aeronautical Development Establishment, a lab under India's Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Uniqueness:
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It is capable of deep penetration into adversary
territory to strike high-value targets
with precision.
Features:
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The Nirbhay measures 6.0m in length, 0.5m in body
diameter, and weighs 1,500-1,600 kg at launch.
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It can strike land targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometres.
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It uses a solid
propellant booster motor that is jettisoned shortly after launch, switching
over to a turbojet engine.
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It is capable of loitering and cruising at Mach 0.7 (subsonic) at altitudes as low as
100 metres.
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It can be armed with a 200-300 kilogram warhead. It
can carry both conventional and nuclear
warheads.
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It can be launched from multiple platforms.
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It is guided by INS/GPS with an active-radar terminal seeker.