Karachi – The flight test of India’s 1000-kilometer land attack cruisemissile, Nirbhay, failed following technical problems, local media reported.
Nirbhay is an intermediate-range land-attack cruise missile with terrainhugging. It is an Indian version of the American Tomahawk and the RussianClub SS-N-27 cruise missiles.
Reason of failed test
Indian defense scientists said that the cruise missile, which was beingtested with an increased indigenous content, developed “engine trouble”within eight minutes of being launched.
They stated that after the initial launch with a solid-propellant boosterto gain speed and altitude, the missile’s engine failed to attain therequired power.
Technical features
The Nirbhay missile is currently powered by the Russian Saturn 50MTturbofan engine. Its local development began in 2007 with the DefenceResearch and Development Organisation.
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The missile can be launched from multiple platforms and is capable ofcarrying conventional and nuclear warheads. It is currently deployed inlimited numbers in LAC during standoff with China.
Failed attempts
Earlier, several attempts of the Indian government to launch the subsonicmissile failed due to technical reasons.
On March 12, 2013, Nirbhay missile was test fired at Chandipur in Balasoredistrict of Odisha. The missile in its maiden flight was supposed to hit astatic target situated 1000 km away in the Bay of Bengal. However, itveered away from its trajectory forcing the command centre to detach theengine from the missile mid way into the flight. The missile was purposelydestroyed in mid-flight.
Similarly, on October 16, 2015, the missile was tested for its low flyingcapability. The missile in flight was supposed to be brought down from 4800meters to 20 meters gradually and in stages. However, the missile crashedinto the Bay of Bengal 11 minutes into its flight after covering only 128km.
