NAG has failed the test... move on
I hate this type of one liner. Do you even know what problem occurs in the summer trials last year. Read the following:
The problem with the DRDO's anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), christened the Nag (Hindi for cobra), is its range. For most of the day and night, the Nag unerringly strikes its targets out to four kilometres, the range that the army demands.
But in extreme heat, especially in summer afternoons in the desert, the missile cannot pick up targets beyond 2.5 kilometres. Once the temperature cools, the Nag's seeker differentiates again between the target and surrounding objects (or ground clutter).
Dr Avinash Chander, the DRDO's missile chief, told Business Standard, "
Even in the worst conditions, the Nag is 100 per cent accurate out to 2.5 kilometres. Except when the temperature is really high, it is also accurate at four kilometres.
Nag already inducted:
The Army has decided to buy 13 Nag carriers (NAMICA, being developed by BEL and L&T), and 443 Nag missiles in the current state. These will be deployed in areas like Punjab, where close-set villages, groves and electricity transmission cables seldom permit visibility beyond 2.5 kilometres. When the DRDO demonstrates improved performance with a better seeker, a larger order will follow.
Official words:
"
This is a top-class missile in every respect except for this problem. While we must have a range of four kilometres for the open desert, the reduced 2.5 kilometre range is acceptable for developed terrain like the Punjab. We will buy 13 Nag carriers and use these to familiarise ourselves with the system. And, in Phase II, we will order the four kilometre missile in bulk quantities,"
says a top general who decides such contracts.
How exactly Nag works:
A third generation ATGM like the Nag is amongst the most complex land systems. Here's how it works. The Nag missile pilots scan the battlefield for enemy tanks with thermal imaging telescopes, which picks up targets by day or night with equal facility. Having picking up an enemy tank, the Nag pilot locks the seeker onto it. Immediately, a digital snapshot of the target is taken, which serves as a reference image. As the Nag streaks towards the target, at 230 metres per second, the seeker takes repeated snapshots of the target; each one is compared with the previous image. The deviations are translated into corrections to the Nag's control fins, which autonomously steer the missile onto the target. This is termed a "fire-and-forget" missile, relieving the pilot of the need to expose himself to enemy fire after launching the missile.
