India test fires cruise missile Nirbhay
India today test-fired its first cruise missile called Nirbhay, but the launch was a failure as the missile's flight had to be terminated halfway after it deviated from its course.
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The Nirbhay (which means fearless) is highly manoeuvrable, can fly at tree-top level making it very difficult to detect on radar, and it strikes targets more than 700 km away carrying nuclear warheads, giving India the capability to strike deep into enemy territory.
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Nirbhay has a wing and pronounced tail fins. It launches like a missile and in early flight the small wings get deployed. It then flies like an aeroplane and can even hover near the target, striking at will from any direction. Its fire-and-forget system cannot be jammed and can be launched from a mobile launcher.
