India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Cruise Missile ‘Nirbhay’

India successfully test-fired an indigenously developed nuclear-capable cruise missile from a facility on its east coast on Friday, according to local media reports. The subsonic missile is reportedly capable of striking targets at up to a distance of about 435 miles.

The missile, named "Nirbhay," which means 'Without Fear' in Sanskrit, flew for about an hour after taking off and took a sharp turn toward the Bay of Bengal, local media reports said. The Defense Research and Development Organisation later declared the test successful. According to reports, people residing within half a mile of the launch site were advised to stay indoors. This is reportedly the second test-firing of the long range cruise missile, after it failed its maiden flight on March 12, 2013.

"The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher positioned at launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 10.03 hours," an official said, The Times of India, a local newspaper, reported. "Flight details will be available after data retrieved from radars and telemetry points, monitoring the trajectories, are analyzed."

The missile, which has a range of about 622 miles, can reportedly be launched from multiple platforms on land, air and sea.

The first test of the surface-to-surface missile in March had failed because all the desired parameters for a successful flight could not be achieved. “The flight had to be terminated mid-way when deviations were observed from its intended course,” a source said, according to local reports.