New Delhi, July 25
In a major boost to India's defence capabilities, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out flight-trials of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
New Delhi [India], July 25 (ANI): In a major boost to India's defence capabilities, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out flight-trials of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
The missile is an enhanced version of the ULPGM-V2 missile developed and delivered by DRDO earlier.
According to the official release, the ULPGM-V3 is equipped with a high-definition, dual-channel seeker that can engage a wide variety of targets. It can be fired in plain and high-altitude areas.
It has day-and-night capability and a two-way data link to support post-launch target/aim-point update. The missile is equipped with three modular warhead options: Anti-armour to destroy modern age armoured vehicles equipped with Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) with Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA); Penetration-cum-Blast warhead with Anti-Bunker application and Pre-fragmentation warhead with a high lethality zone.
The missile is jointly developed by DRDO laboratories, namely Research Centre Imarat, Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, High-Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Integrated Test Range and Defence Electronics Research Laboratory. The present trials were carried out for the Anti-armour configuration.
The missile was released from a UAV, which is indigenously developed by an Indian start-up, Newspace Research Technologies, Bengaluru. DRDO is actively pursuing the integration of ULPGM weapons with long-range and high-endurance UAVs from several other Indian companies. Development cum Production Partners (DCPPs) - Adani Defence and Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad, along with 30 MSMEs/start-ups, contributed to making this unique project a grand success.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated the DRDO and its industry partners, including DcPPs, MSMEs, and start-ups, for the development and successful trials of the ULPGM-V3 system. He termed the success as proof that the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical defence technologies.
Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr Samir V Kamat, congratulated the teams, DcPPs, and start-ups, saying that the development of such a weapon is the need of the hour.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive development! The collaboration between DRDO and private startups is a game-changer. Wondering though - what's the estimated cost per unit compared to imported alternatives? Cost-effectiveness matters as much as capability.
Jai Hind! 🚀 This is why we need to support Make in India defense projects. The involvement of 30 MSMEs shows how defense indigenization can boost our economy while making us self-reliant. Kudos to all scientists and engineers involved!
Good progress but DRDO should focus more on timely delivery. Many projects get delayed by years. Hope this one gets inducted quickly into our armed forces rather than remaining just a successful test.
The day-and-night capability with dual-channel seeker is particularly impressive! Shows how far our defense tech has come. Proud to see women scientists contributing to such projects too 💪
As a defense analyst, I must say the three modular warhead options demonstrate sophisticated engineering. The anti-bunker capability will be crucial for our forces in mountainous terrain. Hope the production quality matches the design specs.
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