The flight trials of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3—the enhanced version of ULPGM-V2 missile—were successfully carried out by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) on Friday at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test range in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
ULPGM-V3, which has a high-definition dual-channel seeker that can strike a wide variety of targets, can be fired in plain and high-altitude areas.
Jointly developed by DRDO laboratories, including 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 missile has day-and-night capability and 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 present trials were carried out for the Anti-armour configuration.
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 Adani Defence and Bharat Dynamics Limited and 30 MSMEs/start-ups contributed to making this unique project a grand success, the defence ministry said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and the industry partners, DcPPs, MSMEs and start-ups for the development and successful trials of the ULPGM-V3 system and said the success of the trials is proof that the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical defence technologies.
