Dhruvastra: DRDO test fires ‘made in India’ anti-tank guided Nag missile

News: Defence Research and Development Organisation has successfully conducted flight trials of Dhruvastra.

Facts:

• Dhruvastra: It is a variant of the HELINA(Helicopter based NAG) Weapon System being inducted into the Indian Air Force(IAF).
  • HELINA is a third generation fire and forget class anti-tank guided missile(ATGM) system mounted on the Advanced Light Helicopter(ALH).
• Purpose: The missile can be fired to target enemy battle tanks, armoured vehicles and bunkers.

Additional Facts:

• Nag Missile: It is a third generation fire and forget class anti-tank guided missile(ATGM) system developed under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme(IGMDP).
  • The other missiles under IGMDP are Prithvi(Short range surface to surface ballistic missile) Agni(Intermediate Range surface to surface ballistic Missile), Trishul(Short range low level surface to air missile) and Akash(Medium range surface to air missile).
• India’s Nag range of missiles: DRDO has developed a number of state-of-the-art anti-tank missiles in the ‘Nag’ range.These include:
  • Prospina which is used by the infantry and has a range of up to 4km
  • Man Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile(MPATGM) which can be launched from the shoulder and the 
  • Helina (Helicopter based NAG) missiles which are customised for a helicopter-led assault on the enemy’s tanks.