India to test 1,000 km ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile next year
14 Nov 2011
New Delhi: Looking to add more strategic and tactical options to the country's missile inventory, India's Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) will test the 1000-km range high sub-sonic, land attack cruise missile 'Nirbhay' early next year.
Nirbhay is a Sanskrit word which denotes 'Fearless'.
According to the DRDO, Nirbhay will be a terrain hugging, stealthy missile capable of delivering a variety of warheads as per mission requirements. It is not clear if the missile will be nuclear capable.
"We are looking to test-fire the new sub-sonic cruise missile in the first quarter of 2012. The Nirbhay will be a new state-of-the-art missile," DRDO officials told news agencies.
The missile is being developed by the Advanced Systems Laboratory under the DRDO.
Presently, systems integration work is under way.
