New Delhi: India has successfully conducted flight trials of the latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM), the V3 version, marking a significant upgrade in India’s defense capabilities.
The V3 can be equipped with multiple warheads, including Anti-armour, to destroy modern age armoured vehicles, penetration-cum-blast warhead with anti bunker application, and pre-fragmentation warhead.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, in collaboration with Adani Defence and Aerospace and Bharat Dynamics Limited, the V3 was released from an UAV, developed by Bengaluru-based Newspace Research Technologies, at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Weighing around 12.5 kg, it has a range of over 10 km, a significant upgrade over the previous V2 version, which had the daytime range of up to 4 km. This extended range allows for bigger standoff distances.
Also known as the UAV Launched Missile- Extended Range (ULM-ER), the V3 version uses a fire-and-forget mechanism powered by a dual-thrust solid propulsion unit. It is equipped with a passive homing system using an imaging infrared (IR) seeker, allowing accurate target engagement in both day and night conditions.
Boasting an accuracy of approximately 10 cm, it is capable of engaging both static and moving targets with high precision. The latest version operates fully autonomously, without the need of constant human oversight. This feature is advantageous in complex environments where real-time control may be limited. A two-way datalink enables updates and retargeting when required.
Showcased at the Aero India 2025 show held in Bengaluru in February, the ULM-ER’s main differences with V1, V2 lie in improvements in guidance systems, performance and range.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and the industry partners among others for the development and successful trials of the ULPGM-V3 system.
(Edited by Tony Rai)