New Delhi: The indigenously-developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) was successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at KK Ranges with support of the Armoured Corps Centre & School (ACC&S) Ahmednagar today.

In the test, the ATGM hit the bull’s eye with textbook precision and successfully defeated the target at minimum ranges. Telemetry systems recorded the satisfactory flight performance of the missile, said the Defence Ministry in a statement. 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 the 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun. Engaging the target 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. With the trial, the ATGM’s capability to engage targets from minimum to maximum range has been established. Earlier trials have been successful for maximum range.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated 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 Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat.’ Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the teams involved in design, development and trial of the system. /BI/