New Delhi, June 29 (Representative) Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army on Tuesday successfully test fired Indigenously developed Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun at KK Ranges in Ahmednagar. The test was supported by Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar. In the test, the ATGM hit the bull’s eye with textbook precision and successfully defeated the target at minimum ranges, Defence Ministry said.
Telemetry systems recorded the satisfactory flight performance of the missile, it added. The all-indigenous ATGM employs a tandem High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles. The ATGM has been developed with multi-platform launch capability and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun. Engaging the targets at lower ranges is a challenge due to the dimensional constraints of tank launched ATGMs, which has been successfully accomplished by the ATGM for MBT Arjun, the Ministry added.
With the trial, the ATGM’s capability to engage targets from minimum to maximum range has been established. Earlier the trials have been successful for maximum range. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and Indian Army for the successful trial of the Laser Guided ATGM and said that development of this system is an important step towards realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy also congratulated the teams involved in design, development and trial of the system. He stated that successful development of laser guided ATGM will enhance the fire power of the MBT Arjun.