According to a Tweet released by Sam Cranny-Evans on September 23, 2020, India has conducted the first successful test-firing of a GLATGM (Gun Launched Anti Tank Guided Missile) fired from the local-made Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT). The missile can apparently be used from different vehicles in service with India.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
Local-made Arjun Mk II main battle tank. (Picture source Army Recognition)
The firing test of the new gun launched anti-tank laser-guided missile was conducted by an Indian DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) team at KK Ranges (ACC&S) in Ahmednagar. According to DRDO, in these tests, the missile successfully destroyed a target at 3 km. The missile was fitted with a tandem HEAT (high-explosive anti-tank) warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armored vehicles.
This GLATGM (Gun Launched Anti Tank Guided Missile) ability increases, even more, the Arjun MBT (Main Battle Tank) capability to provide Indian armed forces with a fully effective response to demanding operational challenges. It delivers immediate, precise and lethal effects against comprehensive set of targets at short and extended ranges, based on a balanced combination of conventional and smart tank munitions, gun-launched missiles, and heavy machine guns.
This type of anti-tank missile launched by the gun of the main battle tank is also developed by other countries as Belgium with the Falarick 105, co-developed with Belgian company John Cockerill and the State Kyiv Design Bureau “Luch”. This 105 mm caliber anti-tank missile specifically designed to be launched from the Cockerill gun, itself a proprietary development by John Cockerill.
Most of the Russian main battle tanks are also able to fire an anti-tank guided missile from the main gun. The 9M119 Svir and 9M119M Refleks are laser beam riding, guided anti-tank missiles developed in the former Soviet Union. The two missiles are similar but vary in range and launch platform. Both are designed to be fired from smoothbore 125 mm tank and anti-tank guns (2A45, 2A46 and 2A46M). Both missiles have an operational range from 4,000 to 5,000 m.
The Arjun is an Indian-made main battle tank also developed by the DRDO in collaboration with the Indian Army. The main armament of the Arjun Mk II or Mk 1A main battle tank comprises a 120mm rifled gun fitted with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor, and a muzzle reference system. The gun is able to fire a full range of ammunitions including FSAPDS (Fin Stabilized Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot), HESH (High-Explosive Squash Head), PCB, TB and the Israeli LAser Homing Anti-Tank (LAHAT) missile. LAser Homing Attack Missile, or LAHAT, is an advanced missile developed and manufactured by the MBT Division of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
