Long Range nuclear-capable subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay tested.

When: 21 December 216

What: India's cruise missile Nirbhay has failed again in its test flight.

Where: Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha

India's nuclear-capable Nirbhay long-range missile was test fired from the launch complex 3 of the integrated Missile Test range.
Three out of four of its test flight have failed.
This was the subsonic missile's fourt test since March 2013, all of which have more or less flopped to achieve the test parameters.

About Nirbhay Missile:

Designed and Developed in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Nirbhay is an all - weather, low cost, long range cruise missile capable of carrying conventional war heads.

The missile has a range of more than 1000km, weighs about 1500 kg and has a length of 6 meters.

The missile is powered by a solid rocket booster for take off which is developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL).

Trials:

- First Trial: 12 March 2013
The test was a partial success as the missile took off, reached the second stage of propulsion. DRDO detected the problem which was a faulty inertia navigation system.

- Second Trial: 17 October 2014
The missile test met all the parameters & completed all 15 way points. The missile was tracked with the help of ground based radars.

-Third Trial: 16 October 2015
Although the take off was successful after repeated disruptions of countdown, the missile crashed into the Bay of Bengal after covering only 128 km of its 1000 km range.

- Fourth Trial: 21 December 2016
The booster engine in the first stage started working and lifted the missile off from its launcher. But the missile started veering dangerously towards one side. Due to this, the missile had to be aborted and it was remotely destroyed.