India on Monday successfully test-fired its first indigenously designed and developed long-range sub-sonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ from a test range in Odisha.
The state-of-the-art missile, which can be deployed from multiple platforms, was test-fired at 11.44 a.m. from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here, sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation said.
Describing the trial “successful”, they said the missile, which is capable of loitering and cruising at 0.7 Mach at altitude as low as 100 metres, covered the designated target range in 42 minutes and 23 seconds.
The flight test achieved all the mission objectives, right from lift off till the final splash, boosting the confidence of all the scientists associated with the trial, sources said, adding it has an engine with rocket booster and turbofan/jet. “The missile majestically cruised and covered its given range,” they said.
The last successful trial of the missile was conducted on November 7, 2017.