Nirbhay cruise missile advances signal India’s growing defense capabilities
Mandeep Singh
India is bolstering its cruise missile capabilities with domestic development of a turbofan engine recently tested on the subsonic Nirbhay cruise missile, which has a strike range of 1,000 kilometers. The new engine, known as the “Manik,” paves the way for development of the long-range land attack cruise missile (LRLACM), slated for testing by 2028.
The Nirbhay is considered a powerful addition to India’s missile arsenal alongside the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile, also domestically produced.
A Manik-powered Nirbhay conducted a successful test flight off the coast of the east Indian state of Odisha in mid-April 2024. Dubbed the indigenous technology cruise missile (ITCM), the enhanced Nirbhay achieved a low-altitude “sea-skimming” flight using waypoint navigation, India’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) reported. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the test a “major milestone.”
Waypoint navigation essentially incorporates coordinates specifying a location through which the missile must pass on its way to the target.
The recent trial also cleared the way for integrating the Manik engine into the LRLACM being developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), according to Janes, an intelligence analysis website. The LRLACM will operate from land, air and naval platforms, and is considered an eventual successor to the Nirbhay.
The test flight also aimed to validate the performance of enhanced radio frequency seekers and other subsystems. The ITCM program’s primary goal is a 100% domestically developed and produced cruise missile. The DRDO is collaborating with local research and defense firms, including the Bengaluru-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment, developer of the Manik engine, the MOD stated.
The Nirbhay is “capable of deep penetration into adversary territory to strike high value targets with precision,” the DRDO stated. “India is in the list of select few countries having capability to design and develop this class of cruise missiles.”
Deployed from a land-based mobile launcher, the Nirbhay can carry a 450-kilogram payload and be armed with high explosives or a small nuclear warhead, according to the news magazine India Today. “The missile is also equipped with advanced avionics and software to ensure better and reliable performance,” according to the MOD.
The cruise missile is expected to be made available to all three branches of the Indian Armed Forces, the Times of India newspaper reported in November 2023, and will significantly enhance the military’s capabilities, providing commanders with versatile and potent options.
Mandeep Singh is a FORUM contributor reporting from New Delhi, India.
