Watch: India's homegrown anti-tank missile Helina launched successfully, ready for induction

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials on Friday said that four 'Helina' anti-tank missiles were launched from Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv helicopter at Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan.

The helicopter launched Nag (Helina) anti-tank guided missile is ready for induction into the armed forces with the infra-red missile striking 100 per cent success at test-firing trials.

It is a third-generation, lock-on before launch (LOBL) fire and forgets anti-tank guided missile with both TOP attack and Direct attack capability. The missile has a maximum range capability of 7+ km. Eight Helina missiles can be integrated on to ALH-WSI (Rudra), four on either side. A twin-launcher capable of carrying two ‘Helina’ missiles is designed and there are four such launchers in full configuration, two on either side of the helicopter armament boom.

"Joint User Trials for Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version) Missile Systems designed and developed by DRDO were carried out from Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) platform in desert ranges," DRDO tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, the Army and Air Force for the achievements.

"Five missions were carried out for evaluating the missile capabilities in minimum and maximum range," the ministry of defence said in a release.

(With inputs from agencies)