DRDO tests drone-launched precision guided missile

Defence Research and Development Organisation on Friday successfully test-fired a missile using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as the launch vehicle. The test was carried out at a test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3, launched from the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test range in Kurnool, is an advanced version of the ULPGM-V2 missile developed earlier by DRDO.

The UAV was developed indigenously by a Bengaluru-based Newspace Research Technologies. DRDO is also considering various drone options, including long-range, high endurance UAVs as the launch platform.

The missile, jointly developed by DRDO laboratories - 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 – is equipped with a high definition dual-channel seeker capable of striking different targets that require varying warheads and strike range.

The missile can be equipped with three modular warheads that are capable of destroying armoured vehicles with the latest Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA), Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA), as also anti-bunker high penetration warheads for blasting and fragmentation of targets.

The UAV or drone-launched precision guided missile has the advantage of better accessibility to any terrain while also saving on cost, making it a better alternative to missiles launched from aircraft or land.

The low-cost drone-launched missile is the ideal weapon for targeting low-value targets along the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan as well as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

While the country already uses armed UAVs as also Kamikaze drones, and is equipping its military with US-made Predator drones with longer reach, those are meant for long-distance strikes and are costly in terms of acquisition.