DRDO successfully tests 'Nirbhay' missile; engine designed by labs in Bengaluru

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Wednesday successfully tested the ‘Nirbhay’ Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile, powered by the Made-in-India ‘Manik’ Turbofan Engine.

The missile was designed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment, a DRDO laboratory in Bengaluru. The engine was designed and developed by another DRDO laboratory, Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), which is also based in Bengaluru.

The ‘Nirbhay’ subsonic missile, which has a range of 1000 kilometers, was fired from a military testing facility off the coast of Odisha at around 9:55 am on Wednesday and it flew for nearly 150 kilometers in 15 minutes.

A source said that the primary objective of the test was to assess the performance of the ‘Manik’ Small Turbofan Engine (STFE) developed by the GTRE. The engine performed well during the short-range test, paving the way for further advancement to make it more powerful and faster, the source said in New Delhi.

An earlier test on October 12 last year had to be aborted due to technical snags.

The ‘Manik’ STFE is a bypass engine of 400 kgf thrust class designed and developed by the GTRE in Bengaluru to propel the Nirbhay Missiles. The engine has several advanced features, like state-of-the-art Control System (Digital Engine Control and Advanced Fuel Controls Systems, Pyro Systems), mid-air starting with pyro devices, wide chord fan, mixed flow compressor and slinger combustor, high speed alternator, uncooled high pressure turbine blades and BLISK LPT, shrouded low pressure turbine blades, according to the DRDO.

The ‘Nirbhay’ is the first Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile developed in India. The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) based in Bengaluru led a consortium of DRDO laboratories for the indigenous design and development of the ‘Nirbhay’. The missile is presently launched from a mobile articulated launcher, but it is being adopted for launch from sea and air platforms too.