Anti-tank guided weapon inches closer to induction into Indian army

NEW new delhi: republic of india on mon successfully tried a adult male portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) with top attack capability against a moving target, paving the way for the induction of the weapon system into the army and boosting its anti-armour capabilities, the defence ministry said.The Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory, which comes under the DRDO, tested the third-generation fire-and-forget missile at KK Ranges in Maharashtra’s Ahilya Nagar.The indigenously developed MPATGM consists of state-of-the-art indigenous technologies, including imaging infrared (IIR) homing seeker, all-electric control actuation system, fire control system, tandem warhead, propulsion system and high performance sighting system, the defence ministry said in a statement.The systems have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratories such as Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune, and Instruments Research and Development Establishment, Dehradun.The development comes at a time India has kicked off the process to import the Javelin anti-tank missile system from the United States at a cost of $45.7 million to boost the army’s operational readiness.“The thermal target system of the indigenous MPATGM was developed by Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur to simulate the target tank. The IIR seeker is well accomplished with day and night combat operation capability. The warhead is capable of defeating modern main battle tanks,” the defence ministry said.Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited are the development-cum-production partners (DcPP) for the weapon system. Defence minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, DcPP and the industry for the successful test, adding that it was an important step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).In last November, the US State Department approved the possible foreign military sale of the Javelin weapon system to the country following New Delhi’s request.“The Government of India has requested to buy one hundred (100) FGM-148 Javelin rounds; one (1) Javelin FGM-148 missile, fly-to-buy; and twenty-five (25) Javelin Lightweight Command Launch Units (LwCLU) or Javelin Block 1 Command Launch Units (CLU),” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said at the time.This proposed Javelin sale, the DSCA added, will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defence partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.