Kolkata: DRDO today said the Army may induct the anti-tank missile ‘Nag’ in its first phase of procurement with a “slightly-reduced” range, as it would work on meeting the targeted range of 4-km of the already long-delayed missile system.

Nag, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, is a third generation “fire-and-forget” guided missile with capability of detecting and hitting the targets with a very low thermal contrast.

The maximum range of the missile is 4 km which, however, it fails to meet during peak summer temperatures.

“We have requested the defence minister and he told us to talk to the Army that as the first phase they may accept it with a slightly reduced range and that too only in the middle of the day (11 AM to 3 PM). In the second phase we will try and improve upon the target,” Director General, DRDO, S Christopher told reporters here.

“If you leave the tank in the sun for hours together in the summer, there is hardly any difference of temperature between the tank’s body and outside temperature. That is the time when we are not able to achieve the targeted 4-km range.

We have achieved 3.2 km,” he said.

However, after 4 PM, the missile is able to identify the target up to 4 km, he added.

The missile has been under development as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) initiated in early 1980s. Nag is the last of the five missile systems developed by the DRDO under IGMDP.

PTI