India Test-fires Helicopter Launched Anti-tank Missile, Helina

India test-fired a helicopter-launched anti-tank missile, Helina from the coast of the east Indian state of Odisha on Friday.

"The weapon system was tested for its full range at 12.55 pm near the Integrated Test Range," PTI quoted defense sources as saying.

During the trial, the Helina was released smoothly from the launch platform, following which the missile tracked the target all through its course in order to hit the target.

All parameters of the flight test were monitored by the telemetry stations, tracking systems and the helicopters deployed by the Army.

On July 13, 2015, three round trials of Helina were conducted. The missile was also test-fired from Rudra helicopter at Pokhran test range on August 19 last year.

The missile is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is the helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a hit range of 7-8 km, was launched from an Army chopper. It is guided by an infrared imaging seeker (IIR) operating in the lock-on before-launch mode, the report stated further.