The Indian army has successfully carried out summer user trials of third generation anti-tank guided missile Nag in a desert in Rajasthan state, paving the way for production and induction of the weapon.
The trials of state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)- developed missile were conducted between July 7 and 18, 2019, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Friday night.
The missile system has already cleared the winter user trials in February this year, it said adding all the ten missiles, which were fired during winter and summer trials, successfully hit the targets.
“The completion of summer user trials will now pave the way for production and induction of the missile system into the army,” the statement said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated the user evaluation teams and DRDO for the successful completion of the user trials.
NAG missile has been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in all weather conditions with day and night capabilities and with a minimum range of 500 metres and maximum range of four kilometres. It is a third-generation fire-and-forget class missile and uses an imaging infrared seeker in lock-on-before-launch mode.
The missile is launched from the NAG missile carrier (NAMICA) which is capable of carrying up to six combat missiles. The robust imaging algorithm has made the missile hit the target at four-kilometre distance even in severe summer desert conditions which is unique in its class, the Defence Ministry said.
“As part of the NAG summer user trials, six missions were conducted under the extreme temperature conditions of the Pokhran Ranges. All the missiles have met the mission objectives including minimum range, maximum range, in direct attack as well as top attack modes and achieved a direct hit onto the target,” according to the statement.