Spectrum Of Thoughts : The "NAG" ENEMIES SHOULD BE AFRAID OF....

Nag:-Fire and Forget

Image-Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India

Automation started picking up the grip in the late 20th century. A system that locks on its target and hit it with 90% accuracy was nowhere reality. But to match the world's rapidly growing technology, India started research on indigenously developed Anti-Tank Missile named "NAG" in 1988. The main aim of the project was to replace existing 'Konkurs and Milan' anti-tank missiles. Nag is the third generation, Lock-on target, Fire and Forget, All-weather, Day and night, Anti-tank guided missile. It is called fire and forget because once it's launched with a target set, You cannot regulate the missile after the launch. Nag will be manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (B.D.L.), Defence Research and Development Organisation (D.R.D.O.) and Ordnance Factory Medak.

The initial version of Nag has a range of 500 m to 4000 m with a speed of 828 Km/ hr. It is launched from a specially built carrier named "NAMICA" (Nag Missile Carrier). Indian nickname given to it is "Sarath". It is a tank destroyer with capabilities like Chemical, Biological, and nuclear protection systems. "NAMICA" carries 12 missiles at a time from which 8 are ready to fire and 4 in storage. The testing of the missile started in 1990 and was delayed due to various system problems. One of them was the heat seeker of the missile was not able to distinguish the target from the surrounding temperature. The reason was the extremely high temperature at the Rajasthan testing range in the 2011 trials. From 2013 to 2018 testing and development were ramped up. Single-shot hit probability was 77% which was improved to 90% during this span. In July 2019, 12 successive tests were conducted and each time target was hit with great precision.

There are a total of five different versions depending on the launching method. Land version with mast mounting system, Man-portable (M.P.-A.T.G.M.), Helina or Dhruvastra (Air launched version), Standoff Anti-tank guided missiles (SANT)-Upgraded version of Helina, and NAMICA the only ready to induct version. The range of the missile is increased substantially from 4km in Prospina (Nag) to 10 km in Helina and 20 km in SANT.

Concluding, this project was initiated under Honorable Late President APJ Abdul Kalam in the 1990s. 30 Years have been passed and still, India has not inducted it in Indian Defence forces due to frequent delays. Comparing with other similar missiles, Javelin (the USA) and Spike (Israel), Nag is equally capable and even more strong in case of an air-launched system like having 10 years of maintenance-free shelf life. Finally, India has received Rafale after a long delay. Similarly, India should make a quick decision and rise to the occasion whenever needed for these kinds of military equipment too.