The Indian Army will induct the indigenously developed Nag missile in May after completing the final round of trials in Rajasthan.
The Nag, an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) developed by the Defence R&D Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, will be deployed in the army’s reconnaissance and support battalions, mechanised units that locate and destroy enemy tanks, according to business-standard.com.
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The Indian Army has spent Rs335 crore ($73.8m) on 443 Nag missiles, which will be manufactured at the public sector Bharat Dynamics Limited.
During the test trials conducted last year, six Nag missiles were fired at tanks 3km-4km away and each of them hit their target accurately.
The Nag is scheduled to undergo another test in April to demonstrate its capability at a minimum range of 500m.
DRDL officiating director Amal Chakrabarti said since the Nag travels at 230m a second, it has just two seconds to align itself to a target that is 500m away.
Nag which follows the “lock-on-before-launch” method of firing, is a third-generation, heavier and more powerful “fire-and-forget” missile specifically designed to operate from vehicles and helicopters.
Once the missile is fired, its seeker automatically guides the missile to hit even a fast-moving tank accurately.
Unlike the American Javelin and the Israeli Spike missile, Nag’s optical guidance system makes it virtually jam-proof.
The helicopter-mounted Nag or HELINA can target a tank 7km away, take the target image after travelling for 3km-4km and destroy the tank.
