India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti tank missile from a helicopter at a firing range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Three-round trial of helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa) missile were conducted at the Chandhan firing range.
The missile was aimed at hitting targets at varied distances of upto 7 km. The trials were against both moving and static targets for different ranges of 2.8 km and 3.2 km to evaluate the performance of an improved version of Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker. While Nag missile has a maximum range of 4 km, the IIR seeker proved to be accurate only up to 2.5 km in extremely hot conditions in the trials conducted earlier.
Once inducted in the Armed Forces, the HeliNa missile will be integrated with the weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, the light combat helicopter produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
What is Nag?
Nag is a third generation “fire-and-forget” anti-tank missile developed in India.
It is one of five missile systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under theIntegrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
What is HeliNa?
HeliNa is a helicopter-launched version of Nag and has been developed by DRDO under IGMDP.
What is Namaica?
NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier) is a tank destroyer built for the army. It is equipped with a thermal imager for target acquisition.
The carriers are capable of carrying 12 missiles with 8 in ready-to-fire mode.
