Nirbhay, developed by DRDO, is best described as a
- A.Supersonic cruise missile
- B.Long range subsonic cruise missile
- C.Intercontinental ballistic missile
- D.Surface to air missile
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, a long range subsonic cruise missile. Nirbhay flies below the speed of sound but for a much greater distance than BrahMos, staying low to avoid radar, and it can change course in flight and loiter over an area before striking. That combination of range and manoeuvre is what a subsonic cruise missile offers, and it is powered by a small turbofan engine rather than a rocket motor.
Option A describes BrahMos, which is supersonic but of shorter range, so the two are exactly the pair examiners set against each other. Option C, an intercontinental ballistic missile, follows a high arching path outside the atmosphere and belongs to the Agni class, of which Agni-V crosses five thousand kilometres. Option D, a surface to air missile, is a weapon against aircraft, such as Akash or Trishul, and not a strike weapon at all.
Read the full article: DRDO and Defence Technology: Missiles and Labs
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following missiles is a canister launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile developed by DRDO?
- A.Astra
- B.Akash
- C.Shaurya
- D.Trishul
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Shaurya is the land based version of the submarine launched K-15 Sagarika, and it is stored and fired from a sealed canister, which lets it be moved by road and launched at short notice.
Read the full explanation →The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, approved in 1983, was led by
- A.Homi Jehangir Bhabha
- B.Vikram Sarabhai
- C.A P J Abdul Kalam
- D.Satish Dhawan
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The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was approved in 1983 and Kalam, then at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, was made its head.
Read the full explanation →Which missile developed under the IGMDP is an anti-tank guided missile?
- A.Nag
- B.Trishul
- C.Prithvi
- D.Akash
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Nag is a third generation anti-tank guided missile of the fire and forget kind, which means that once the seeker has locked on to the target the operator need not keep guiding it, and the crew can move away at once.
Read the full explanation →The name of the BrahMos missile is derived from the names of which two rivers?
- A.Brahmaputra and Moskva
- B.Brahmaputra and Volga
- C.Beas and Moskva
- D.Brahmani and Moskva
Show answer
BrahMos is built by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture formed in 1998 between DRDO and the Russian firm NPO Mashinostroyeniya, and the name joins a great river of each country.
Read the full explanation →In which year was the Defence Research and Development Organisation formed?
- A.1947
- B.1958
- C.1969
- D.1983
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DRDO was formed in that year by bringing together the Technical Development Establishment of the Indian Army, the Directorate of Technical Development and Production and the Defence Science Organisation, so that defence research would be done under one roof.
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