Top 5 Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) With The Indian Army

Hello aspirants,

One of the most repeated and famous question in SSB is why you want to join the Armed forces? And if you say that it is my childhood dream then be ready to answer anything that is asked regarding the armed forces be its rank structure, different commands, a battle fought, types of equipment and what not. Recently one of my friends was asked about the ATGM with the Indian army. In this post, I will include the critical ATGM along with features in short which will help in easy understanding.

So let's begin

Firstly we will discuss some of the Indian made missiles as the question might be asked about these.

1. Nag Man-Portable Missile
   

• The Nag missile (Cobra) is an Indian third generation "fire-and-forget" anti-tank guided missile. It is an all-weather, top attack missile with a range of 3 to 7 km.
• It is being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and is manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited.
• Different variants are
• NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier) is a tank destroyer built for the army.
• Helina (Helicopter-launched Nag) with a range of 7–8 km, launched from twin-tube stub wing-mounted launchers on board the armed HAL Dhruv.
• An air-launched version of Nag missile with ten km-range launched from tactical interdiction aircraft like the upgraded Jaguar IS. It will use a nose-mounted millimetric-wave active radar seeker.
• DRDO has made man-portable Nag version, which weighed less than 14 kg.

2. Amogha Missile

• Amogha-1, is a second generation, Anti-Tank Guided Missile which has pinpoint accuracy for a range up to 2.8 km.
• It is developed by Bharat Dynamics Ltd(BDL).
• The missile is produced in two versions first one is The land version and second is The IR version of the rocket.
• Talking about the trajectory The missile moves near the target in a parabolic path and does not follow an utterly elliptical path like conventional projectiles. It then bends at a steep angle and to attack the target.
• Amogha will be configured to be used on the Advanced Light Helicopter and the HAL Light Combat Helicopter.

So these were the two crucial indigenously build ATGM now we will discuss some foreign made missiles.

3. Spike (ISRAEL)
   

• Spike is a fourth-generation Israeli fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a HEAT warhead.
• It was developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.
• It is available in man-portable, vehicle-launched, and helicopter-launched variants.
• The Spike is capable of destroying targets within the line-of-sight of the launcher ("fire-and-forget"), and some variants of the missile are capable of making a top-attack profile through guidance method.

4. MILAN (FRANCE)
   

• MILAN is a Light anti-tank infantry missile of France based company.
• It is a wire guided SACLOS (semi-automatic command to line-of-sight) missile, which means the sight of the launch unit has to be aimed at the target to guide the rocket.
• Variants of missiles are-
• MILAN 1: Single, main shaped charge warhead (1972), calibre 103 mm.
• MILAN 2: Single, main shaped charge warhead, with standoff probe to increase penetration (1984) – see photo to the right, calibre 115 mm
• MILAN 2T: Single main shaped charge, with smaller shape charge warhead at the end of the standoff probe to defeat reactive armour (1993). The Indian army uses this missile.
• MILAN 3: Tandem, shaped charge warheads (1996) and electronic beacon
• MILAN ER: Extended range (3,000 m) and improved penetration

5. LAHAT
   

• The LAHAT is an acronym for Laser Homing Attack, or Laser Homing Anti-Tank is a third generation semi-active laser homing guided low-weight anti-tank guided missile developed since 1992 and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries.
• The LAHAT is designed to achieve a 95 per cent probability of kill under most conditions.
• It has a semi-active laser guidance system, capable of both direct and indirect laser designation.
• The target can be laser-designated by the launching platform (e.g. firing tank) or other platforms (e.g. another tank, helicopter, UAV, or forward scouting team), requiring minimal exposure in the firing position.
• With a low launch signature, the missile’s trajectory can be set to match either top attack (armoured fighting vehicle, warship) or direct attack (helicopter gunship) engagements.
• Standard ATGM used in the main gun of Arjun Mk-1 and Mk-2 tanks of the Indian army during the war.

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Jai Hind