India conducts successful final trial of Nag anti-tank guided missile

India on October 22, 2020 successfully carried out the final trial of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a warhead. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The test was carried out at 6:45 am from the Pokhran firing ranges in Rajasthan. The Nag anti-tank guided missile successfully hit the prescribed target. The missile is now ready for induction into the armed forces.

#WATCH: The successful final trial of Nag anti-tank guided missile conducted earlier today at Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.

The missile is now ready for induction into the armed forces. pic.twitter.com/lsExIBbefR

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2020

Following is the picture of the target hit by Nag anti-tank guided missile in its final trial conducted this morning.

Nag Missile: All you need to Know!

• The Nag missile is an Indian third-generation, all-weather, fire-and-forget, lock-on after launch, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM).

• It has an operational range of 500 m to 20 km. It has a single-shot hit probability of 90 percent. Its shelf life is roughly 10 years.

Photos of the successful final trial of Nag anti-tank guided missile conducted earlier today. The missile is now ready for induction into the armed forces. https://t.co/46RASrwfD2 pic.twitter.com/DI1FXrGlfS

— ANI (@ANI) October 22, 2020

The Nag missile has five variants under development:

1. A land version, for a mast-mounted system

2. HELINA: The helicopter-launched Nag missile with extended range. It is launched from wing-mounted launchers onboard HAL Rudra helicopters and HAL Light Combat Helicopters. 

3. MPATGM: The Man-Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MP-ATGM) is a third-generation anti-tank guided missile derived from the Nag missile.

4. An air-launched version

5. NAMICA: Nag Missile Carrier tankbuster

• The Nag missile is being indigenously developed as a part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) run by the DRDO. It is manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited.

• The Union Ministry of Defence had announced on July 19, 2019 that the missile was ready for production.

Significance

The Nag Missile system can take out targets at ranges of 4- 7 km. It has top attack capabilities that can effectively destroy all known enemy tanks either during the day or night. The missile system is extremely crucial for the Indian Army, which needs third-generation ATGMs with a strike range of over 2.5km with fire and forget capabilities. 

The Army needs these missiles to equip its mechanised infantry units to carry them on their Russian BMP vehicles. The army has been till now using second-generation Milan 2T and Konkur ATGMs. The third-generation missiles are important for stopping advancing enemy tanks.

Background

The final trial of Nag anti-tank guided missile comes just ahead of several other missile tests by the DRDO. Recently on October 19, 2020, the DRDO tested the helicopter launched Stand-off Anti-Tank Missile (SANT) with a range beyond 10 km from the Balasore testing range in Odisha.

SANT or Standoff Anti-tank Guided Missile is a fourth-generation upgraded variant of HELINA missile developed for the long-distance airborne anti-armour role. The test was conducted from the ground and was successful.