Nirbhay is India’s first indigenously-produced cruise missile. The missile similar in appearance to the U.S. Tomahawk and the Russian Club SS-N-27 with its cylindrical fuselage. It equips a land-based mobile launcher but reports suggest potential deployment on submarines.1
Nirbhay at a Glance
- Originated from
- India
- Possessed by
- India
- Class
- Subsonic Cruise Missile
- Length
- 6.0 m
- Diameter
- 0.5 m
- Launch weight
- 1,500-1,600 kg
- Payload
- 450 kg
- Warhead
- HE, submunitions, potentially 12 kT nuclear
- Propulsion
- Turbojet
- Range
- 800-1,000 km
A Nirbhay missile in flight.
Nirbhay Development
The Nirbhay is India’s first indigenously-produced cruise missile. The missile is similar in appearance to the U.S. Tomahawk and the Russian Club SS-N-27 with its cylindrical fuselage. Its first flight test took place in 2013 and had to be aborted when the missile veered off course. The second test in 2014 proved successful to a range of 1,000 km.2 A 2015 test of the missile was terminated as a result of a malfunction in the guidance system.3
Another Nirbhay test flight in December 2016 failed after the missile deviated from its course, “veering dangerously towards one side in less than two minutes of its lift-off,” according to DRDO officials.4
The Nirbhay currently equips a land-based mobile launcher, although reports suggest the missile may deploy on submarines.5
Specifications
The Nirbhay measures 6.0 m in length, 0.5 m in body diameter, and weighs 1,500-1,600 kg at launch. It can range 800-1,000 km while carrying a 450 kg payload. Its equips a land-based mobile launcher and carries high-explosives or submunitions, although a small nuclear warhead with a 12 kT yield is also possible.6 The Nirbhay uses a solid propellant booster motor that is jettisoned shortly after launch, switching over to a turbojet engine with a cruise speed of 0.65 Mach.7 It is guided by INS/GPS with an active-radar terminal seeker, and its accuracy could be improved both by the development of an indigenous Indian navigation satellite system8
Footnotes
- Franz-Stefan Gady, “India’s Deadliest Sub to Test-Fire Missiles,” The Diplomat, October 15, 2015, Accessed on http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/indias-deadliest-sub-to-test-fire-missiles/.
- Y, Mallikarjun, “India successfully test-fires cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’,” The Hindu, October 20, 2014, Accessed on http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indigenously-developed-cruise-missile-nirbhay-testfired/article6509942.ece.
- Franz-Stefan Gady, “Revealed: India’s Deadly New Missile Fails Flight-Test,” The Diplomat, Accessed on http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/revealed-indias-deadly-new-missile-fails-flight-test/.
- Franz-Stefan Gady, “Bad News for India’s Deadliest Sub: Nirbhay Cruise Missile Fails Test (Again),” The Diplomat, December 23, 2016, https://thediplomat.com/2016/12/bad-news-for-indias-deadliest-sub-nirbhay-cruise-missile-fails-test-again/.
- Franz-Stefan Gady, “India’s Deadliest Sub to Test-Fire Missiles,” The Diplomat, October 15, 2015, Accessed on http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/indias-deadliest-sub-to-test-fire-missiles/.
- James C. O’Halloran, “Nirbhay,” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic, (IHS; 2015). 139.
- James C. O’Halloran, “Nirbhay,” in IHS Jane’s Weapons: Strategic, (IHS; 2015). 139.
- Swarajya, “Why India’s Own Navigation Satellite System Will Be A Boost For Its Armed Forces, April 28, 2016, Accessed on http://swarajyamag.com/columns/why-indias-own-navigation-satellite-system-will-be-a-boost-for-its-defence.