FINALLY NAG ATGM IS READY FOR INDUCTION

BHUBANESWAR: The third generation ‘fire and forget’ Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) Nag has completed developmental trials paving the way for its induction in the armed forces.

The indigenously developed missile equipped with Imaging Infrared Radar (IIR) seeker was flight tested twice from a range in Rajasthan on Friday and it successfully hit targets under different conditions.

A defence official said the missile completed its developmental trial as its functionality with launcher NAMICA has been established successfully.

“The missile successfully hit the targets on both the occasions under different ranges with very high accuracy as desired by the Armed Forces. Earlier in June it too had successfully demonstrated its capability in the peak of summer,” he said.

Though the missile was to be handed over to Army in June last year, it was deferred due to delay in completion of developmental trials due to some technical reasons.

Nag missile has two variants - land and air launched. While the land variant has a range of upto four km, the air launched version has a range of around eight km.

The missile is equipped with many advanced technologies including the IIR seeker with integrated avionics, a capability possessed by few nations in the world.

Designed to destroy modern main battle tanks and other heavily armoured targets, it incorporates an advanced passive homing guidance system and possesses high single-shot kill probability.

The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under its Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) to support both mechanised infantry and airborne forces of the Indian Army.

The Indian Army has been awaiting the induction of the Nag missile since long. The missile, which is under development since 80s, had failed during user trials by the army personnel from Mahajan firing range in Rajasthan in 2012. The missile was then fired with the modified launcher NAMICA and achieved success.