Indigenous anti-tank missile, Nag may join IA soon

[Rajkumar]

rythem - brother aaj apne Dawaei nahin lei hai na ????

 

[Screaming Skull]

hy skull do u have any info about its seekers. i mean technical details. i wanna know about it. how does it work. message me please.

The seeker on the Nag is of ‘Imaging Infrared (IIR)’ type. It has ‘lock-on-before launch’ (LOBL) capability with the seeker tracking the target even before firing. Basically, an IIR seeker images the target in the infrared spectrum based on the heat signatures of the target. It may be comparable to Thermographic camera where the brightest (warmest) to (coolest) parts are color coded diffrently while in black n white it is through the brightness and contrast. The basic difference between an IR seeker and IIR seeker is that while an IR homes on to the target emitting IR radiations while in flight, an IIR seeker can image the target even before launch. This renders decoys like flares and chaffs useless as the the missile has already imaged its target well in advance.

It appears so simple when I explain it here, but trust me it is one of the most complex technologies to master. It is this IIR seeker on this missile that makes this a truly 3rd gen fire and forget missile. Of course additional capabilities like one of the most powerful tandem warheads, day night attack, top attack and extended range, make this a truly lethal weapon system.

Check out this video of Nag missile test-

 

[sudhir007]

The Indian Army has placed an order of 443 Nag missiles and 13 Namicas as per news..... and can anybody tell me what exact price of similar kind of 3rd generation missile.

 

[Rajkumar]

The Indian Army has placed an order of 443 Nag missiles and 13 Namicas as per news..... and can anybody tell me what exact price of similar kind of 3rd generation missile.

sudhir introduce your self in member introduction section.

you raised a really good question.if we compare nag with current anti tank missiles of world, where would it stand in terms of operational effectiveness and cost effectiveness.
does ant body have any answer.

 

[Rajkumar]

The seeker on the Nag is of ‘Imaging Infrared (IIR)’ type. It has ‘lock-on-before launch’ (LOBL) capability with the seeker tracking the target even before firing. Basically, an IIR seeker images the target in the infrared spectrum based on the heat signatures of the target. It may be comparable to Thermographic camera where the brightest (warmest) to (coolest) parts are color coded diffrently while in black n white it is through the brightness and contrast. The basic difference between an IR seeker and IIR seeker is that while an IR homes on to the target emitting IR radiations while in flight, an IIR seeker can image the target even before launch. This renders decoys like flares and chaffs useless as the the missile has already imaged its target well in advance.

It appears so simple when I explain it here, but trust me it is one of the most complex technologies to master. It is this IIR seeker on this missile that makes this a truly 3rd gen fire and forget missile. Of course additional capabilities like one of the most powerful tandem warheads, day night attack, top attack and extended range, make this a truly lethal weapon system.

Check out this video of Nag missile test-

fYVgeZn2Vjc[/media] - Nag Missile test

that is good info.
yeah ,integration of image processing and infra red sensing to full weather conditions makes it really hard. just wanted to know if these techniques implemented separately ,then merged or something more sophisticated tech is applied?

 

[Screaming Skull]

just wanted to know if these techniques implemented separately ,then merged or something more sophisticated tech is applied?

Hope this helps,

The above diagram is for the Israeli Spike. Nag is very similar toit.

@sudhir007

That info about 443 units is pretty old. Army placed that order even before the user trials were over. It is yet to place an order for the Nags after the successful user trials. If I am not wrong the Army is looking to acquire 4,100 "advanced" ATGMs and Nag fits the bill perfectly!

As far as comparisons with other missiles go, DRDO claims that the Nag is superior in terms of range and lethality (potency of the warhead) when compared to other anti-tank missiles – Javelin (U.S.), Spike (Israel) and Trigat (Europe). I have no idea about costs!

 

[duhastmish]

Trigat-LR. IOC: Unitary Cost: USD$700,000

---------------------
javelin:
Each launcher costs: $143,358.03
Each missile costs: $86,014.80

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spike unit cost is about $5000 usd
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for nag i think we spent 60 million usd in research

 

[Rajkumar]

Trigat-LR. IOC: Unitary Cost: USD$700,000

---------------------
javelin:
Each launcher costs: $143,358.03
Each missile costs: $86,014.80

------------------

spike unit cost is about $5000 usd
----------------------

for nag i think we spent 60 million usd in research

are you sure about the unit cost of spike. why there is so big difference between unit cost of spike and the rest?
even nag costs around 120,000 $

 

[sudhir007]

Screaming Skull Bhai sahib India already order 4100 milan2t & 15,000 Konkurs-M ..???

 

[duhastmish]

SPIKE Shoulder-Launched Fire-and-Forget Guided Missile Kills Fast-Moving Threats

SPIKE Shoulder-Launched Fire-and-Forget Guided Missile Kills Fast-Moving Threats

by David Crane
david@defensereview.com
Some folks at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), a.k.a. NAVAIR Weapons Division (China Lake, CA), are currently developing a "man-packable, shoulder-launched guided missile" system for U.S. infantry warfighters called SPIKE. The developmental system is essentially a low-cost, compact, and lightweight man-portable shoulder-fired fire-and-forget missile system that incorporates three separate guidance modes–inertial, laser, and imaging electro-optical–into its targeting system to lock onto the target and ensure kills against moving targets on the ground and in the air out to a range of approx. two miles.

DefenseReview found out about SPIKE at SHOT Show 2006 in February (2006). Steve Felix, one of the engineers on the project, was walking around the show for some reason, ran into a member of our team, and handed him the SPIKE fact sheet (pictured). When we subsequently interviewed Mr. Felix in March (2006), he informed us that the impetus for the project was to give our infantry warfighters an…

affordable, easily carried shoulder-fired guided fire-and-forget missile system that would allow them to take out the kinds of ground vehicles that terrorists/insurgents in Iraq are currently using (relatively fast-moving civilian cars and trucks), without breaking the bank, and without it being too heavy to carry. According to Felix, "up until now, people have only done guided weapons to kill tanks and bigger." He added, What we’re trying to do is bring guided missile technology down to the grunt on the ground. Turns out that a lot of targets, especially moving targets, are very hard to hit. And, so, we were gonna’ give ‘em a guided missile that let ‘em reach out and hit these guys that were giving them a problem, as stated in some of their fleet battle expleriments, and do it for a factor-of-ten less cost and a factor-of-five less weight. Guided missiles, historically, were too heavy and too explensive to be used in really large numbers. Whatever you give the infantry, it needs to be available in large numbers."
That’s where SPIKE comes in. At at a projected cost of $10,000 per unit ($5K for the missile, $5K for the re-usable launcher), an OA weight of 10 lbs (missile + launcher), and is relatively compact. The $10K projected initial buy-in/per-unit cost and $5,000-per-shot cost means that the U.S. military should be able to afford/purchase the system in large numbers, especially since the $5K launcher is reusable. NAVAIR Weapons Division claims that because of its compact size and light weight, a Marine can carry three SPIKE systems in his backpack. While Felix acknowledges that "you still need the silver bullet [Javelin anti-armor weapon system, etc.] for the big boys", i.e. main battle tanks (MBT), he points out that those systems are overkill for the most common vehicle-born threats that our warfighters currently face in the battlespace. "Our [SPIKE team] point is that we should have something else so that you can do the same kind of thing against the vehicles that the terrorists have," Felix said. These vehicle-borne IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)/shooting platforms are "harder than all get-out to hit, ’cause they’re really bookin’. I mean, they’re not like military vehicles that drive 30 miles an hour. They’re doin’ 75 miles and hour. And they’re jinkin’, and they’re hard to hit. Well, you could use a Javelin on ‘em, but, ya’ know, they’ll bankrupt us if we keep shootin’ at those cars and trucks with Javelins," Felix added.

That’s because the Javelin anti-tank missile system, developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control specifically to take out heavily-armored main battle tanks (MBT), is expensive with a reported cost over $200,000 and OA weight of 49.06 lbs for the combined missile/launcher system. Fortunately, the launcher is reusable, but the missiles, obviously, are not, and they cost $100,000+ apiece. That’s o.k., of course, because the main battle tanks that Javelin was designed and developed to destroy are far more expensive than that, so the use of the Javelin system on those targets is an acceptable financial transaction, especially since you’re only paying for the missiles/projectiles for each subsequent tank kill. But the Javelin’s destructive power and $200,000+ per-unit buy-in and $100,000+ per-shot cost is severe overkill for the relatively inexpensive and very plentiful civilian/light-skinned vehicles terrorists/insurgents are using as vehicle-born IEDs and shooting platforms. SPIKE, at $5,000 per shot (i.e. per missile), is a much more economical way to go for neutralizing these targets, and it can also destroy light-armored vehicles.

With SPIKE, a warfighter will reportedly also be able to destroy/neutralize low-flying, slow-moving aircraft like helicopters, for example. "I can hit a target if it has a 60 mile-an-hour crossing velocity or less, and if it’s pulling less than two G’s. What that really doesn’t say is that the vehicle can be moving somewhat faster. It just can’t have a big crossing velocity. Which means I can hit most helos," Felix said. And prop planes, provided they’re low and slow enough. General aviation kinds of things. That terrorist in his Cessna 150, if he’s comin down. I can’t go up after ‘em. If they want to fly at 14,000 feet, you need something else," Felix said.

That’s what Stingers are for.

Anyway, when DefenseReview asked Felix what "inertial" meant, referring to one of SPIKE’s three targeting modes, Felix replied "It means that if I get surprised, I’ll just bring this thing up, point at the target, count one second off, and pull the trigger, and the electronics–even though they haven’t locked on a target–will cause this thing to fly as straight as it absolutely can. So I will be able to hit trucks and jeep-size targets out to about 200 meters." The ability to "snap-shoot" and immediately destroy fast inbound insurgent/terrorist vehicles is a particularly important capability for U.S. infantry warfighters to have, since their lives depend on it. This type of threat is common in Iraq, at present.

During our interview, DefenseReview recommended that the Felix and his team develop a thermobaric warhead for SPIKE similar in profile/capability to Talley Defense Systems‘ thermobaric version of their M72 LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon), and Felix agreed that it’s worth exploring. Thermobarics (thermobaric weapons) can have a profound psychological impact on the enemy. Human beings have a natural, innate fear of fire and burning alive. While a targeted individual in an enclosed target space is perhaps more likely to die or at least be rendered unconcious by the blast-caused overpressure and lack of oxygen (after the available oxygen is consumed by the fireball) before burning to death, it’s still a pretty scary proposition.

DefRev also mentioned the idea of attaching SPIKEs to weaponized UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) and UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles). With regard to a UCAV platform, SPIKE would appear to be ideally suited for an unmanned rotorcraft (unmanned helicopter) platform. Neural Robotics, Inc. (NRI), developer of the AutoCopter Gunship semi-autonomous unmanned helicopter, is currently developing a larger umanned helo that can carry a lot more weight (somewhere in the area of 100 lbs). A larger-version AutoCopter Gunship armed with multiple AA-12 Full-Auto Shotgun/FRAG-12 grenade weapons packages and SPIKEs would seem to be a pretty potent unmanned weapons system. Coincidentally, Steve Felix recently attended the 5th Annual Conference on Armed UAVs in Las Vegas, NV (June 8-9, 2006), which "examines the entire gamut of issues associated with Armed UAVs and Precision Munitions" and asks the question: "What missions can Armed UAVs realistically perform?"




------------------------------------------------


NAWCWD Corporate Communications: News Release
Date: 20-Feb-08
News Release Number: ECL200802201
By Staci Mathews NAWCWD Public Affairs
Remote-controlled target
Test image: Spike is about to hit the remote controlled target just as the test team planned.

Steve Felix, Frank Knemeyer, Burrell Hays, Dick Mello
Steve Felix, Spike project manager, updates former China Lakers Frank Knemeyer, Burrell Hays, and Dick Mello on the progress of the Spike project at NAWCWD. Photo by Renee Hatcher.

Steve Felix explains simulation of a UAV launch by firing Spike
Steve Felix, Spike project manager, explains how NAWCWD test engineers simulated a UAV launch by firing Spike from the top of this small mountain on the China Lake range and hitting a target nearly a mile and a half away. Photo by Joy Lewis.

Art Hickle, Mary Retterer
Art Hickle, Spike deputy project manager, explains to Mary Retterer, president of Cerro Coso Community College, how the Spike missile will be attached to the rail beside them and then launched at a moving target on the valley floor below. Photo by Renee Hatcher.


The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division conducted its fourth successful Spike guided missile demonstration on Feb. 12 at China Lake.

"This was a major milestone for us," said Steven Felix, Spike project manager at NAWCWD. "We were able to simulate Spike being fired from an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), and we used the NAWCWD-developed, UAV-capable Airborne Fire Control System (AFCS) for the first time."

Spike test engineers in conjunction with NAWCWD Range Department personnel simulated a UAV launch by firing Spike from the top of a small mountain on the China Lake range down onto a target on the valley floor nearly a mile and a half away. The Spike missile hit a Range Department developed and operated remote controlled target truck traveling at about a 20 mph crossing velocity at a range of a mile and a half. The AFCS used a radio frequency wireless data link to communicate between Spike and the remotely located weapons control station to command the missile's lock-on-before-launch target acquisition, track, and launch system.

"Spike successfully tracked and hit the panel van target as expected," Felix said. "The remote launch is a primary capability that must be demonstrated before pushing forward to the goal of firing a Spike missile from a small UAV."

Originally conceived and developed by Felix at China Lake, Spike is the smallest guided missile in the world at 25 inches long, 2.25 inch diameter, and 5.3 pounds, and is the only missile using an electro-optical imaging strapped-down seeker. The cost goal is $5,000 per unit, which would make Spike the lowest cost guided missile currently in existence.

"Spike's small total weight could make it the weapon-of-choice for the small, tactical UAVs because of their limited payload capabilities," Felix said. "It could also be shoulder-launched in ground combat or used as a force-protection weapon to defend surface ships from small-boat swarms, and it could be available to the warfighter in less than three years."

 

[Screaming Skull]

Screaming Skull Bhai sahib India already order 4100 milan2t & 15,000 Konkurs-M ..???

Yes you are right. The army has already placed orders for 4100 milan2t & 15,000 Konkurs-M. But that is not at the expense of Nag. The Nag is totally different from the other two missile types which are of 2nd gen! Even the original report that I posted says that the Arny is going to order a few thousand pieces and BDL has been already assigned with the production (incidentally BDL is gonna manufacture the Milans and Konkurs under license!). The exact number however is still unknown.

 

[Mig-29]

Well do any one have knowledge about what happened to the milimetric wave radar .

 

[Screaming Skull]

Well do any one have knowledge about what happened to the milimetric wave radar .

The millimetric wave seeker may be incorporated in future versions of the missile. But dunno if the IA s keen on that as it will increase the weight of the missile and might possibly reduce the range! Also, the cost of the missile with both IIR & MMW seekers will be exorbitant.

 

[Mig-29]

NEW DELHI - Two decades after the homegrown Nag anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was conceived, it has been cleared for production.

The ATGM was indigenously designed and developed by the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation [DRDO]. The 4-kilometer-range missile will be produced at state-owned Bharat Dynamics, which will make about 200 missiles in the first year and double that number in following years. The Indian defense forces require about 4,000 ATGMs.


The production of the Nag missile was ordered early this month after successful heat trials in the Rajasthan desert, said a senior Indian Army official. The winter trials of the missile were concluded last December.

All the user tests of the Nag missile have been completed and the Army has given its approval, said a senior DRDO scientist.

The latest trials of the Nag missile were conducted using an advanced imaging infrared seeker head, one of the Army's essential requirements, the Army official added.

The Nag will replace the existing Russian Konkours and European missile Milan, both of which are manufactured under license by Bharat.

The Army urgently needs the more advanced Nag to improve kill probability as the missile uses a high explosive warhead to penetrate the armor found in modern tanks, the official said.

The Nag missile will be made in land and helicopter versions, where it will be fitted on the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter, although the current order is only for the land variant.

The Nag is a third-generation, all-weather, top-attack, fire-and-forget missile, one of five missile systems developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. Design work started in 1988 and the first tests were carried out in November 1990.

The DRDO scientist said focus will now shift to the helicopter version, which will have an extended range of seven kilometers. The air version will be completed in two years, added the scientist. The land version also eventually will have a range of seven kilometers.

India Clears Anti-Tank Nag Missile for Production - Defense News

 

[sudhir007]

The Nag will replace the existing Russian Konkours and European missile Milan, both of which are manufactured under license by Bharat.

If it is replacing Konkours & Milan both are 2nd Generation ATGM then why Army give more order of these missile (15000 & 4100) under the license production of BDL both are expansive and 2 generation ATGM. If army want to import some missile order Israel spider LR which cost around $5000 & 3rd generation . Beside Milan come at $30000. Spider is 6-8 km range beside Milan come around 2-4 km.