IDEF 2021: Yugoimport from Serbia unveils its new Nova surface-to-surface missile


At IDEF 2021, a defense exhibition in Turkey, Serbian company Yugoimport displays for the first time to the public its new NOVA, a light multipurpose portable "Fire & Forget" missile system.


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The new Yugoimport Nova Fire & Forget missile system at IDEF 2021, defense exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey. (Picture source Army Recognition)


The Nova is a surface-to-surface missile that was primarily developed to be used against tanks, armored vehicles, fortifications, low-flying aerial targets, and naval targets. Fire-and-forget is a type of missile guidance that does not require further guidance after the launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the target.

The Nova missile can be mounted on different platforms including helicopters, armored vehicles, or small ships. A launcher station can be fitted with two containers each with one missile ready to fire. The loaded containers have a total weight of 86 kg. The missile is controlled by a ground station when the system is mounted on a vehicle or by a ruggedized tablet for the portable system.

The guidance system of the Nova missile is based on a video/infrared homing head with the missile connected to the launcher by a radio link. The missile flies on the ballistic trajectory to the target area. Using a radio link, the image is transmitted from the homing head to the ground control station, where the operator selects and locks on the target.

The Nova missile can be fired to a distance from 0,5 to 7 km and is able to penetrate 1,000 mm of ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor).