A series of trials of anti-tank Nag missile, with focus on the performance of a modified Namica (Nag Missile Carrier) in harsh desert conditions, will be conducted in the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan between July 24 and August 10.
The induction of the third generation missile that has a ‘top attack and fire-and-forget’ capability and four-km range was delayed, with the Army seeking several changes in the specially-designed Namica, which can hold 12 missiles, with eight of them in ready-to-fire mode.
As many as eight missiles would be fired during the trials from two reconfigured Namica vehicles, both developed by Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Electronics Limited, according to DRDO sources involved in the project.
The weight of a reconfigured Namica has been reduced from 16.5 tonnes to 15 tonnes to improve its mobility and amphibious performance. Another important feature is its buoyancy, which is now equivalent to a BMP-2, an infantry fighting vehicle.
This time around, high-end, stabilised Electro-Optical Systems (EOS) have replaced the fixed ones. While one of them is meant for target acquisition by the gunner, the other system will function dedicatedly to provide an independent “panoramic sight” for the surveillance of the crew commander. Earlier, there was only a single fixed sight for the gunner.
To enable the user to adopt the “hunter-killer approach,” an additional sight has been provided for the crew commander to guide the gunner in firing in quick succession. “When the gunner is engaged in firing at the first target, the commander will locate the second target and give a cue to the gunner. The commander is the hunter and the gunner is the killer,” the sources said.
The mobility trials for Namica would be conducted for a range of 1,000 km in three or four stages. For the first time, Nag would be fired with a higher resolution seeker to demonstrate the lock-on-before-launch capability for a range exceeding four km.
