The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on 12 October, launched the 800-km range Nirbhay cruise missile from Odisha’s test facility into the Bay of Bengal but The missile developed a snag and the trial was aborted 8 minutes later.
Nirbhay was the 10th missile to be fired by the DRDO during the last 35 days, an average of a missile every four days. India’s emphasis on fast-tracking development and deployment of the new-age stand-off weapons is a response to China’s mobilisation of troops and support elements in the East Ladakh sector.
The DRDO was expected to conduct another trial in a few months that would pave the way for the missile’s full-fledged induction into Indian military and deployment on the borders.
Missile Deployed
A limited number of Nirbhay missiles had been moved earlier to the border with China before Monday’s eighth round of test firing.
Nirbhay is a subsonic missile, flying at a speed of 0.7 Mach, with sea-skimming and terrain-hugging capability that helps the missile stay under enemy radar to avoid detection. The missile has a loitering capability that allows the delivery platform to manoeuvre mid-flight and at the end to hit the target. The missile’s launch is powered by a solid rocket booster developed by DRDO’s Advanced Systems Laboratory, which unlike liquid propellant, are easier to handle.
The 1,000 km range solid rocket booster missile has a single shot kill ratio of more than 90 per cent. With conventional warhead, the missile is capable of deep penetration to strike high-value targets with precision, and can be launched from mobile platforms.
The 12 October tests were conducted as part of an effort by the DRDO to expedite development of missiles along the LAC amid the stand-off with China’s People’s Liberation Army at multiple points in East Ladakh.
At the LAC, the PLA’s western theatre command has deployed stand-off weapons up to 2,000 km range and long-range surface-to-air missiles in Tibet and Xinjiang after the Ladakh stand-off started in May this year. The Chinese deployment is not limited to occupied Aksai Chin but is located in depth positions from Kashgar, Hotan, Lhasa and Nyingchi along the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC).
These new-age weapons will be based on solid-fuelled ducted ramjet (SFDR) technology that can be used for air-to-air missiles as well as long-range supersonic cruise missiles. The technology has been tested by the DRDO twice – on 30 May 2018, and 8 February 2019.
