DRDO says aborted Nirbhaya missile test "80 % successful"
13 Mar 2013
A day after the long-range cruise missile 'Nirbhay' deviated from its course during its maiden launch off the Odisha coast and had to be destroyed in mid-air, scientists of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) today began the post-mission analysis to locate the fault.
The sub-sonic missile that was launched from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in Balasore district, about 230 km from here, deviated from its intended course after travelling approximately half its course.
Scientists of the DRDO who were involved in the development and launch of the missile met at Chandipur and started analysing the telemetry data.
"We should not rush to any conclusion because it involves a large amount of data. We are doing a very, very thorough investigation," a scientist involved in the mission told IANS.
"It will take at least a month," said the scientist on the expected time required to complete the investigation. He said the post-mission analysis committee has already started looking into the matter.
Describing the test, senior scientists said the launch was perfect and the booster established the missile in cruise mode correctly. Nirbhay flew more than 200 km along the Odisha coast, skimming the Bay of Bengal, watched by radars along the coastline. The navigation too was perfect, with the Nirbhay correctly touching the first two ''way-points'', which marked the route that the missile was to take.
