Indian Army

NAG Missile: The ATGM That Can Destroy Pakistani and Chinese Tanks From Miles Away

It’s development started almost 4 decades ago in 1983. This is one of the 5 missiles developed under IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) headed by former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

It was developed as a third-generation, all-weather “Fire and forget” missile with a minimum range of 500 meters to a maximum range of 4 km. Initially, it was a surface-to-surface missile. But later on, four different versions of the NAG missile were developed for all different purposes.

NAG Missile at showcase in a defence expo.

In this article, we will talk about the variant used by the army in which a carrier tank of NAG missile, also known as NAMICA is used to carry and fire the NAG missiles on enemy’s tanks, bunkers, AMC’s and other vehicles.

NAG Missile Launched From NAMICA (NAG Missile Carrier)

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NAG missile with its carrier, NAMICA (NAg MIssile CArrier)
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A still from video of testing NAG missile

This is the missile that was developed during the IGDMP project originally. This missile has “fire and forgets” capabilities and it comes with the “lock-on-before-launch” system. This means that the operator of the NAMICA tank locks its target from the inside of the tank and launches the missile and after that, he forgets about the missile and prepares the next missile for its launch. The missile does the remaining work on its own and hits the target via direct-hit or top-attack as the mode set for the missile by the operator before launching depending on the requirements.

This missile has a 90% hit probability, which makes it a very capable weapon. Furthermore, the capabilities of the missile make it a weapon that is only comparable to the USA’s Javelin Missile and Israeli’s Spike missile, which are known to be the best of their class in the world.

Nag missile is developed considering the long desert borders of India. Most of the world’s best ATGM fail to hit their target in high-temperature environment desert conditions. But the NAG missile has the capability to hit the target in any condition, which makes it one of the best missile in the world.

Specifications:

  • Mass – 43 kg or 95 lb
  • Length – 1.85 m or 6 feet 1 inch
  • Diameter – 0.20 m or 7.9 inch
  • Warhead – Tandem charge HEAT (Penetration >900 mm in ERA + RHA)
  • Warhead weight – 8 kg
  • Engine – Solid Propalent Rocket booster
  • Wingspan – 0.4 m or 16 inch
  • Operational Range – 500 m to 4 km
  • Maximum speed – 230 m/s or 828 km/h
  • Launch Platform – NAMICA

NAMICA (NAg MIssile CArrier)

NAMICA is a modified BMP-2 vehicle, originally built by Soviet Union and now built by Ordinance Factories under license production. After production in India, it was nicknamed as SARATH. It is equipped with thermal imager and lager range finder for target acquisition. It carries a total of 12 missile, with 8 in ready-to-fire mode and 4 other in storage.

It also has a compact auxiliary power unit (APU) for silent watch operations, a fire defection and suppression system (FDSS) as the counter measures against enemy. To operate in the adverse conditions, it has nuclear, biological and chemical protection system (NBCPS).

Specifications

  • Weight – 14.5 tonnes
  • Length – 6.735 m
  • Width – 3.15 m
  • Height – 2.45 m
  • Crew – 4
  • Maximum speed – 65 km/h (Road), 45 km/h (off-road), 7 km/h (water)

Final User Trial Of NAG Missile

Also read, How to crack NDA written exam in 1st attempt?

Also Read, IGMDP, The Project That Made Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam As Missile Man Of India

Also Read, Dream Of Every Soldier!! Know about ACC, SCO, and PC SL Entry?

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