Hyderabad: In a significant advancement for India’s defense capabilities, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted flight trials of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3.

These trials took place at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test facility in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. The ULPGM-V3 is an improved version of the earlier ULPGM-V2 missile, which was also developed and delivered by DRDO.

The ULPGM-V3 features a high-definition dual-channel seeker, enabling it to effectively target a wide range of objects. It can be launched in both standard and high-altitude environments and is capable of operating day and night. The missile features a two-way data link that enables updates to targets and aim points after launch. It provides three modular warhead options – an anti-armour warhead designed to defeat modern armored vehicles equipped with Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) and Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA); a penetration-cum-blast warhead suitable for anti-bunker applications, and a pre-fragmentation warhead that delivers 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 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 and Production Partners (DPPs) – Adani Defence and Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad, along with 30 MSMEs and start-ups, contributed to the success of this unique project.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, industry partners, 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.

Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, congratulated the teams, Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), and start-ups, stating that the development of such a weapon is crucial at this time.