[15] The Nag has five variants under development: a land version, for a mast-mounted system; the helicopter-launched Nag (HELINA) also known as Dhruvastra; a "man-portable" version (MPATGM); an air-launched version which will replace the current imaging infra-red (IIR) to millimetric-wave (mmW) active radar homing seeker;[16] and the Nag Missile Carrier (NAMICA) "tank buster", which is a modified BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) produced under license in India by Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK).

[21] The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully completed the final trial of Nag anti-tank missile using a live warhead on a dud tank at Pokhran army ranges at 6.45 am on 21 Oct 2020.

[27] The Nag successfully completed its final validation trials and was expected to join the Indian Army's arsenal in 2011.

[28] In 2011, the project suffered a one-year delay due to the army's changing of its requirements for the NAMICA at the last moment.

[29] This was due to the failure of the missile to hit the target at 4 km range during the summer trials of 2011 in Rajasthan.

The scientists found a fault in the Europe-imported heat-seeker: it was unable to distinguish between the heat signature of the target and its surroundings during high temperatures at long distances.

This led to the development of a better indigenous seeker, with higher resolution and sensitivity, by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), that could track and distinguish targets at long distances.

[30][31] The aerodynamic characterization research was conducted at the National Aerospace Laboratories' 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility.

[32] The Nag cleared final developmental trials held by Indian Army in September 2016, making way once again for the weapon system to enter mass production.

[citation needed] The missile was again declared ready for induction on 28 February 2018, after successfully destroying 2 tanks in desert conditions in a test.

[38] As of 2019, the missile was ready for induction and was expected to enter mass production by year-end, according to a senior DRDO official.

The third-generation fire-and-forget-class ATGM uses an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker that locks on to the target before launch.

A real-time image processor located next to the guidance package helps enable automatic target detection and tracking capability.

The guidance system is based on an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker that ensures a high target accuracy in both top and front attack modes.

It is equipped with various electro-optical systems including a thermal imager (TI) and a laser rangefinder (LRF) for target acquisition.

The NAMICA successfully completed amphibious trials in the Indira Gandhi Canal at Rajasthan on 8 August 2008.

[50] NAMICA can fire missiles at a target located around 7.5 kilometres with hunter-killer sight capability and carries 4 military personnel.

HELINA has a range of 7 km which will put the enemy tank commanders in curved terrain at severe disadvantages.

[76] It is structurally different from Nag and is guided by an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker operating in a lock-on-before-launch mode for target engagement.

[90] The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), worth ₹700 crore (US$81 million), for the procurement of more than 200 units of Dhruvastra (Air Force variant) for HAL Rudra was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on 15 September 2023.