Reaching yet another milestone in its efforts to develop a slew of missiles, India today entered an elite group of nations with the successful final testing of 'Nag' indigenous Guided Anti-Tank Missile and readying it for induction into the Army.
After the trials, makers of the missile, the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) declared it ready for induction into the Indian Army following user trials. The climax trials of the third generation anti-tank missile were conducted in the presence of the users, the Army, at Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan in the last 48 hours.
The flight tests of the 'fire and forget' anti-tank missile programme, named after the King of snakes Cobra now stands completed, almost 22 years after it was first conceived, DRDO's chief controller Dr Prahlada said after witnessing the tests today. The 'Nag' missiles were fired against static and moving targets during the 48 hours starting August 5 to test the land version of the weapon, which DRDO claims could defeat any futuristic battle tank over a range of four kms.
"User trials by the Army would come close on the heels of the Pokhran trials," officials told PTI, exuding confidence that the nation's first ever such weapon would be inducted by the Army in large numbers by November-December this year. Army needs these missiles in large numbers, which is evident by acquisition of 4,000 Anti-Tank Guided Missiles from Russia and France recently.