India has a long history with combat vehicles of Soviet origin
In the 1980s India produced under license the BMP-2 version with the designation Sarath
It is estimated that by 2007, 1,250 vehicles had been built
and by February 2020, about 2,500 Saraths had been produced. Based on the BMP-2
the Indian Defense Industry and DRDO recently launched a new mobile anti-tank weapon system, the NAMIS or NAMICA
The NAMICA is classified as a tank destroyer
It is equipped with various electro-optical systems including a thermal imager and a laser rangefinder for target acquisition
The NAMICA carries a total of twelve missiles, with 6 in ready-to-fire mode and 6 in storage
The layout of NAMICA are almost identical to the Sarath BMP-2
with the driver located at the front left side of the hull and the commander sitting to the rear of the driver
The system is equipped with six ready-to-fire NAG missiles, an Indian-made anti-tank guided missile
The turret consists of two rows of three missiles with the firing sight system mounted in the middle
The Nag missile is an Indian third-generation, all-weather, fire-and-forget, lock-on after launch
anti-tank guided missile with an operational range of 500 m to 20 km depending on variant
It has a single-shot hit probability of 90%.
The missile is designed to engage and destroy heavily armored vehicles and fortifications, was fully designed and developed by DRDO
The missile version on NAMICA has a range of about 4km
It is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker for target acquisition and guidance and has the ability to hit targets in top attack mode
Secondary armament includes a remote-controlled weapon station armed with a 7.62mm machine gun
mounted to the left of the driver and commander hatches.
The final user trial of the third generation Anti Tank Guided Missile NAG was conducted from the Pokhran range in 2020
Following that, the Indian Army ordered NAG “Fire & Forget” “Top Attack” Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM)
mounted on the NAG missile carrier NAMICA, which is a BMP II-based system with amphibious capability
The BMP-2 chassis is a low profile, agile, reliable and serviceable vehicle with an engine powerful enough for most all-terrain missions
Welded steel armor provides all-round protection against 12.7 mm rounds
As far as this is an older vehicle, there is no protection against landmines
The vehicle is fitted with NBC protection and automatic fire suppression systems.