DRDO test fires LASER Guided anti-tank missile successfully

On October 1, 2020, the indigenously developed Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) was test fired successfully at the Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar by DRDO (Defence Research Development Organization). The test was conducted from MBT Arjun tank.

About ATGM

The ATGM is designed to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour protected armour vehicles from a distance of 1 km to 1.5 km. It has been developed with multiple launch capability and is currently under technical evaluation. It is being tested from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun

The Laser Guided Missile was developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment, Pune in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune.

What is ATGM?

It is an anti-tank missile. It was primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armoured vehicles. The first generation ATGMs of India were guided by manual commands. The second generation were semi-automatic missiles where the operator had to fix on the target till impact. The third generation missiles relied on electro optical imager. The current Laser guided missiles are the fourth generation missiles.

Other Anti-Tank Missiles in India

The DRDO ATM was the first generation anti-tank missile. It was developed by DRDO. AMOGHA was the second generation anti-tank missile that was developed by Bharat Dynamics Limited. The NAG Missile was the third generation anti-tank missile. JASMINE and Spike ATGMs are still under development. JASMINE is being developed by an Indian private company called VEM Technologies Limited. The Spike ATGMs are to be developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems of Israel.

Spike ATGMs

These are highly efficient ATGMs held by the Indian Army. In July 2020, the Indian Army placed a repeat order of Spike Long Range ATGM due to their better performance. These are the fourth generation ATGMs developed by Israel. It has a target range of about 4 km. It can be operated in fire and forget mode. It also operates under non-line-of-sight mode. This mode allows the operator to operate from a covered position.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2020