The Indian Defence Ministry on Tuesday announced that the indigenous anti-tank guided missile ‘Helina’ has been successfully tested.
It said in an official statement, “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.”
The second round of testing was conducted at high-altitude ranges as ”part of user validation trials” by teams of scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Indian Army, and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The missile is equipped with variants of the ALH Dhruv chopper. It is guided by an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Seeker operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode.
DRDO officials said, ”It is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.”
According to Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies, “The successful test demonstrates our indigenous weapon building prowess. Now the focus should be on integrating the missile on the helicopter, production and operationalisation of the weapon in the armed forces.”
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For performing a commendable job in difficult conditions, Secretary Department of Defence RD and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the teams.
The Defence Ministry said Helina has all-weather day and night capability. It can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as with explosive reactive armour.
Earlier, India had successfully tested a stand-off anti-tank (SANT) missile four months ago. It has a range of 10 km.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said, “Anyone can now break into the security system of a country with the help of different communication methods. No matter how strong the system is, if it is linked to another country, there is a possibility of a security breach. Newer defence systems and platforms are electronic and software-intensive. They can be controlled or subverted from anywhere.”
”Under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, we have provisions which provide suitable opportunities and environment to foreign companies to invest, collaborate, set up joint ventures and earn profit,” he added.
(With inputs from agencies)
