• A drone-launched precision guided missile has been successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on July 25.

• The flight trials of UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 were conducted in 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 the DRDO earlier.

• The ULPGM-V3 is equipped with a high definition dual-channel seeker that can strike a wide variety of targets.

• It can be fired in plain and high-altitude areas.

• The missile has day-and-night capability and two-way data link to support post-launch target update.

The missile is equipped with three modular warhead options: 

i) Anti-armour to destroy modern age armoured vehicles equipped with Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) with Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA).

ii) Penetration-cum-Blast warhead with Anti Bunker application.

iii) Pre-fragmentation warhead with a high lethality zone.

• The missile was released from an unmanned aerial vehicle, which is indigenously developed by an Indian startup — Newspace Research Technologies, Bengaluru.

• The DRDO is actively pursuing integration of ULPGM weapons with long-range and high endurance UAVs from several other Indian companies. 

• 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.

• Adani Defence, Bharat Dynamics Limited, and 30 MSMEs and startups contributed to making the project a success.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)