IAF Sukhoi Fleet to be Equipped with Homemade Nirbhay Missiles

[SpArK]

IAF Sukhoi Fleet to be Equipped with Homemade Nirbhay Missiles​

New Delhi — India’s ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is slated to be incorporated in the Suhkoi Su-30MKI Flanker strike aircraft, increasing the nuclear weapon capability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) beyond that of free-fall weapons only. The ‘Nirbhay’ will be the third indigenous weapon to equip the Su-30MKI besides the ‘Brahmos’ supersonic cruise missile and the ‘Astra’ medium-range air-to-air missile.

The induction of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile to the Su-MKI Flanker aircraft will give the decisive edge the IAF needs in terms of long-range and strategic strike capability.

According to sources, the range of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is roughly 800 to 1,000 kilometres. Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory, part of state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization’s (DRDO) is currently pursuing the ‘Nirbhay’ project. Sources added that a design model of the ‘Nirbhay’ is expected to be unveiled at Aero-India 2011.

Sources also added that the approximate size of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile is about 19 feet, which implies that only a couple of these missiles can be accommodated in the Su-MKI aircraft. It has been suggested that the aircraft could carry one weapon on a pylon in the tunnel between the two engine bays, similar to the measure taken for the ‘Brahmos’ missile. Two ‘Nirbhay’ missiles can be accommodated if one could fit under each of the inboard wing-station.

The details of the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile have been kept under wraps by India. The subsonic Nirbhay weighs 1,000 kg with a 1,000 km range and a speed of 0.7 mach. The requirement for ‘Nirbhay’ was anticipated by India’s three armed forces. The ‘Nirbhay’ is to have multiple platforms and can be launched from ground, sea and air.

It has been disclosed that the overall design and aerodynamic study work and the design of the propulsion system has been finished. DRDO’s Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineering) is developing the transporter erector launch vehicle for the ground-launched version of the ‘Nirbhay’ missile.

ASL, the lab which is designing the ‘Nirbhay’ cruise missile indicated that it will be superior to the ‘Babur’ missile which belongs to Pakistan. Pakistan’s ‘Babur’ msissile is the first subsonic, low-level terrain-mapping missile and was developed originally with a 500 kilometres range and later upgraded to 700 kilometres.

IAF Sukhoi Fleet to be Equipped with Homemade Nirbhay Missiles | India Defence Online

 

[SpArK]

Super MKi's gonna get superb!

 

[rockstarIN]

SU-MKI with Nirbhay, Brahmos, Novator ..wow...

 

[IndiaIsrael]

good going..

 

[marcos98]

But there was no Nirbhay in AERO'11
It has not even completed its first test.

 

[SpArK]

But there was no Nirbhay in AERO'11
It has not even completed its first test.

Must be the next one!.

 

[kingdurgaking]

As per Prasun.... Initial Nirbhay will be used only for cruise missile target destruction because we need to have our own Turbo fan as MTCR restricts the use of foreign components in the missile.. Not sure whether we are successful in this..

 

[Jon Snow]

why are we adding so many a2g weapons like brahmos or nirbhay to su 30mki which is basically an air superiority fighter..... doing strikes should be the job for mmrca or mirage 2000, right??
Or maybe they want to convert the mki to a truly multi role platform, knowing that the winner of the mmrca was primarily made for air superiority...

 

[SQ8]

Nice.. This is a China centric weapon..

 

[ganimi kawa]

Nice.. This is a China centric weapon..

This has major implications for China but that does not make it a China centric weapon.

Nowadays , a cheap, subsonic stealthy ALCM is almost always the weapon of first choice for the early strikes. And Pakistan is no exception. Brahmos will be for VIP targets, while Nirbhay will be for medium to low priority targets!


The forthcoming LRCM, though, is definitely China centric!

 

[koushik]

why are we adding so many a2g weapons like brahmos or nirbhay to su 30mki which is basically an air superiority fighter..... doing strikes should be the job for mmrca or mirage 2000, right??
Or maybe they want to convert the mki to a truly multi role platform, knowing that the winner of the mmrca was primarily made for air superiority...

Sukhoi su-30MKI is not merely an air-superiority fighter it is also a multirole-strike fighter.
even if we dont include the brahmos and nirbhay to be the MKI's A2G weapons then also it is a potent ground attack fighter.some of its stand-off weapons include:-

1.Kh-59MK stand-off cruise missile (285km) mach 0.85
2.kh-35U anti-ship missile (130km) mach 0.9
3.kh-31A anti-ship missile (50km) mach 2.7
4.kh-31P anti-radiation missile(110km) mach 2.7
5.KAB-500kr Electro-optic guided bomb
6.KAB-500L laser guided bombs
7.FAB-250,500 general purpose bombs.

This shows how multirole the MKI is.

 

[brational]

Nice.. This is a China centric weapon..

Every weapon is made with a purpose & targets in mind.. But dont worry, they r of no use if everything goes as usual.. But yes, capability should be built up..

 

[baker]

one more reason we can call as super sukhoi....................

 

[Jon Snow]

Sukhoi su-30MKI is not merely an air-superiority fighter it is also a multirole-strike fighter.
even if we dont include the brahmos and nirbhay to be the MKI's A2G weapons then also it is a potent ground attack fighter.some of its stand-off weapons include:-

1.Kh-59MK stand-off cruise missile (285km) mach 0.85
2.kh-35U anti-ship missile (130km) mach 0.9
3.kh-31A anti-ship missile (50km) mach 2.7
4.kh-31P anti-radiation missile(110km) mach 2.7
5.KAB-500kr Electro-optic guided bomb
6.KAB-500L laser guided bombs
7.FAB-250,500 general purpose bombs.

This shows how multirole the MKI is.

then its pretty odd that the iaf calls it an air dominance fighter

 

[Omega007]

Sukhoi su-30MKI is not merely an air-superiority fighter it is also a multirole-strike fighter.
even if we dont include the brahmos and nirbhay to be the MKI's A2G weapons then also it is a potent ground attack fighter.some of its stand-off weapons include:-

1.Kh-59MK stand-off cruise missile (285km) mach 0.85
2.kh-35U anti-ship missile (130km) mach 0.9
3.kh-31A anti-ship missile (50km) mach 2.7
4.kh-31P anti-radiation missile(110km) mach 2.7
5.KAB-500kr Electro-optic guided bomb
6.KAB-500L laser guided bombs
7.FAB-250,500 general purpose bombs.

This shows how multirole the MKI is.

Bhai,you forgot the primary precision guided munition of our MKI.That is the KUB 1500L.And also the OFB 1000 pound/2000 pound laser guided bombs with a CEP of 1 meter.
REGARDS....