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Indian Army will begin a series of trials of anti-tank Nag missile to evaluate a modified Namica (Nag Missile Carrier) in harsh desert conditions. The tests will be performed at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan between July 24 and August 10. 3rd generation anti-tank Nag missile has ‘top attack and fire-and-forget’ capability with a range of four-km range. The Army has asked for several changes in the specially-designed Namica, which can hold 12 missiles, with eight of them in ready-to-fire mode.

Eight missiles are scheduled to be fired during the trials from two reconfigured Namica vehicles, both developed by Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Electronics Limited.

The weight has been reduced from 16.5 tonnes to 15 tonnes for better mobility and amphibious performance. Buoyancy is also been taken care off which is now equivalent to a BMP-2, an infantry fighting vehicle.

The high-end, stabilised Electro-Optical Systems (EOS) have been replaced. One of them is used by the gunner for target acquisition, the other system functions dedicatedly to provide an independent “panoramic sight” for the surveillance of the crew commander. Prior to this, there was only a single fixed sight for the gunner.

For “hunter-killer capability,” an additional sight has been provided for the crew commander to guide the gunner in firing in quick succession. While the gunner engages and fires at the first target, the commander can locate the second target and give a cue to the gunner. The commander is the hunter and the gunner is the killer.

The mobility trials for Namica is scheduled to be conducted for a range of 1,000 km in three or four stages. Nag missile is also scheduled to be fired with a higher resolution seeker to demonstrate the lock-on-before-launch capability for a range exceeding four km.