Helina and Dhruvastra: Anti-tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs)

Excellent study material for all civil services aspirants - begin learning - Kar ke dikhayenge!

  Helina and Dhruvastra: Anti-tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs)

---

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

---

• India's march forward: India has successfully test-fired indigenously-developed anti-tank guided missile systems ‘Helina’ and ‘Dhruvastra’ in the Pokhran range, Thar desert (Rajasthan).
• Points to note: 

1. The Helina (the Army version) and Dhruvastra (Indian Airforce version) are helicopter-launched versions of third-generation anti-tank guided missiles (the Nag missile system).
2. The missile system has all-weather day-and-night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armor and explosive reactive armor.
3. These have been designed and developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

• Operations: The ‘Helina’ and ‘Dhruvastra’ can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode. 

1. Top Attack Mode: The missile is required to climb sharply after launch and travel at a certain altitude, then plunge on top of the target.
2. Direct Attack Mode: The missile travels at a lower altitude, directly striking the target.

• Nag Missile: Nag is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, anti-tank guided missile developed by DRDO to support both mechanized infantry and airborne forces of the Indian Army. It is an all-weather condition with day and night capabilities and with a minimum range of 500m and a maximum range of 4 km. Nag can be launched from land and air-based platforms. The land version is currently available for integration on the Nag missile carrier (NAMICA). The DRDO has developed nag Missiles under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
• IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program): It was conceived by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to enable India to attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology. It was approved by the Government of India in 1983 and completed in March 2012. The missiles developed under this program are - 

1. Prithvi: Short-range surface to surface ballistic missile (SSBM)
2. Agni: Ballistic missiles with different ranges, i.e., Agni (I, II, III, IV, V), and Agni VI under development
3. Trishul: Short-range low-level surface to air missile (SAM)
4. Nag: 3rd generation anti-tank missile
5. Akash: Medium range surface to air missile (SAM)

(you can remember them with the acronym PATNA)

• Knowledge centre:

1. Cruise missile - A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that maintains flight through aerodynamic lift, and is made to deliver the payload on the target. They do not cross Earth's atmosphere, and use jet engine technology. They can be subsonic, supersonic or hypersonic. They can fly in a relatively straight line and at lower altitudes, thanks to rocket propellants. Subsonics fly at close to speed of sound, or 0.8 Mach. India's BRAHMOS flies at 2-3 Mach, and is the only known versatile multi-launch mode supersonic cruise in service. BRAHMOS-II would go beyond 5 Mach, and be hypersonic.
2. Ballistic missile - These fly on a ballistic trajectory over most of the flight path. That means once the missile burns up the fuel that propels it, the missile keeps moving, the same way that a bullet does after it's been fired out of a gun. Once the fuel is gone, the missile's direction can't be altered. It follows a path determined by the speed of its launch and the force of gravity trying to pull it back toward the Earth's surface. Eventually, gravity guides the missile — and its payload, which might be an explosive, a chemical or biological weapon, or a nuclear device — down toward its target. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the Earth's atmosphere, while intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are launched on a sub-orbital trajectory. India's Agni range missiles are ballistic missiles.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

Join UPSC Self Prep course | Online Course (PT Gurukul) | Covid Special Course |  Join PT courses