India carries out successful flight-test of anti-tank guided missile Helina
Teams from the DRDO, the Army, and the Air Force conducted the flight test.
The missile was successfully fired, engaging a simulated tank target in the Pokhran desert ranges, during flight trials from an indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). An Infrared Imaging Seeker (IIR) operating in the 'lock on before launch' mode guides the missile.
“It is one of the most advanced Anti-Tank weapons in the world,” the DRDO stated.
Helina is a weaponized version of the ALH with a maximum range of seven kilometres. It was designed and developed for integration on the weaponized version of the ALH.
“In continuation to validation trials conducted at Pokhran, proof of efficacy at high altitudes paves the way for its integration on ALH. The trials were witnessed by senior Army commanders and senior scientists of DRDO,” according to a Ministry of Defence press release.
Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, developed Helina as part of the DRDO's Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS) cluster. Since 2018, successful user trials of the missile have been conducted.
The Helina missile system, according to DRDO scientists, has the all-weather, day-and-night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional and explosive reactive armour. It was designed to work with both Army and Air Force helicopters. Dhruvastra is the name given to the Air Force version of Helina.
Helina can attack targets in both direct hit and top attack modes. The missile must climb sharply after launch and travel at a certain altitude before plunging on top of the target in the top attack mode. The missile travels at a lower altitude in the direct hit mode, striking the target directly.
The teams involved in the development and trials of Helina were congratulated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
The Nag, Helina MPATGM, SANT, and Laser Guided ATGM for MBT Arjun are among the anti-tank missiles designed and developed by the DRDO.
Nag is a third-generation fire-and-forget missile designed to engage heavily fortified enemy tanks in mechanised formations. The MPATGM (Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile) is a 2.5-kilometre-range anti-tank guided missile with fire-and-forget and top-attack capabilities for infantry use.
SANT is a smart stand-off anti-tank missile being developed for the Air Force's anti-tank operations. It will be launched from the Mi-35 helicopter. The ATGM for MBT Arjun is a laser-guided, precision-guided munition that is fired from the Arjun tank's 120mm rifled gun to engage and defeat ERA-protected armoured targets.
Comments