India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) unveiled a model of a new, third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) at the Defexpo 2020 defence exhibition in Lucknow from 05–09 February.
Designated ‘Amogha-III’, the new man-portable, ‘fire-and-forget’ missile has a conventional cylindrical body with eight mid-body foldable fins, and four relatively larger aft fins, for flight stabilisation.
A model of the developmental Amogha-III ATGM displayed at Defexpo 2020 (Rahul Udoshi)
Amogha-III has a comparatively simple configuration featuring a BDL-developed smokeless, signature free, dual-thrust solid rocket motor with thrust vector control (TVC) and a dual mode – imaging infrared (IIR) and electro-optical (EO) – seeker assembly for terminal homing. The missile is fired in lock-on-before launch (LOBL) mode, and can engage targets by using either top or direct attack mode.
The Amogha-III ATGM houses an anti-armour tandem warhead, which is claimed to be able to penetrate in excess of 650 mm beyond Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA). The weight class of the warhead has not been disclosed.
The Amogha-III – as displayed at the Defexpo show – has a stated operational range of 200–2,500 m and weighs 18 kg. BDL noted that the production model will be lighter, and that the company intend to keep the missile weight between 15–16 kg. The company declined to disclose the other specifications, including engagement speed of the Amogha-III ATGM.
The complete missile system features an Amogha-III missile and a tripod, and a command launch unit (CLU) with remote operation capability.
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