SmilingBuddha
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BALASORE: Even as two months have passed since subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay failed miserably during a developmental trial, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is yet to fix the faults in the missile system.
The surface-to-surface 1,000 km range missile was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Odisha coast on October 16 and its self-destructive mechanism was activated mid-air as the system deviated from the pre-designated trajectory. The inquiry committee, led by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Director Shyam Chetty set up to probe the fiasco, has not submitted its report.
Sources in the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which has designed the missile, said post mission analysis is still on. Rectification and modification in the missile system will be going on till its next trial. As the missile is under development, the research and development wing will continue to modify till they get a robust system, they added.
On the other hand, an official associated with the exercise claimed that the test was conducted in a hurry even as the Nirbhay team was not ready for trials. Many sub-systems were not ready and quality assurance and reliability factors were not fully taken care of. “On the day of trial, software self-test displayed some errors which delayed the launch. Despite red flag by software team, they went ahead and failed in the mission. Safety of the system, quality of subsystems and reliability of the build components, everything was compromised,” the source informed.
According to a DRDO insider, all this happened due to cold war between two top scientists, including a former director of Aeronautical Development Establishment who allegedly did not cooperate with the Nirbhay team after last year’s partial success trial.
As reported in these columns earlier, the independent verification and validation of Nirbhay flight control software was not conducted properly and the fuel tank used in Nirbhay-3 had not cleared the Environmental Stress Screening tests.
Inquiry Report on Nirbhay Fiasco Not Yet Submitted -The New Indian Express
The surface-to-surface 1,000 km range missile was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the Odisha coast on October 16 and its self-destructive mechanism was activated mid-air as the system deviated from the pre-designated trajectory. The inquiry committee, led by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Director Shyam Chetty set up to probe the fiasco, has not submitted its report.
Sources in the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which has designed the missile, said post mission analysis is still on. Rectification and modification in the missile system will be going on till its next trial. As the missile is under development, the research and development wing will continue to modify till they get a robust system, they added.
On the other hand, an official associated with the exercise claimed that the test was conducted in a hurry even as the Nirbhay team was not ready for trials. Many sub-systems were not ready and quality assurance and reliability factors were not fully taken care of. “On the day of trial, software self-test displayed some errors which delayed the launch. Despite red flag by software team, they went ahead and failed in the mission. Safety of the system, quality of subsystems and reliability of the build components, everything was compromised,” the source informed.
According to a DRDO insider, all this happened due to cold war between two top scientists, including a former director of Aeronautical Development Establishment who allegedly did not cooperate with the Nirbhay team after last year’s partial success trial.
As reported in these columns earlier, the independent verification and validation of Nirbhay flight control software was not conducted properly and the fuel tank used in Nirbhay-3 had not cleared the Environmental Stress Screening tests.
Inquiry Report on Nirbhay Fiasco Not Yet Submitted -The New Indian Express
