In a significant fillip to India’s indigenous strike capabilities, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted flight trials of the UAV‑Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)–V3 at the National Open Area Range (NOAR), Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced on X.
He congratulated DRDO along with its development‑cum‑production partners (DcPPs), MSMEs and start‑ups, saying the success “proves the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical defence technologies.”
While technical particulars of ULPGM‑V3 were not disclosed, earlier DRDO documents and open-source reporting show a clear evolution pathway of the family—from ULPGM V2, for which DRDO’s TBRL lab designed multiple warhead options, to extended‑range UAV‑launched munitions unveiled at Aero India 2025 (ULM‑ER) featuring imaging‑IR seekers and dual‑thrust propulsion. The latest test underscores that maturation.
The choice of NOAR, Kurnool, continues a pattern of DRDO using the range to validate next‑gen systems—most recently high‑energy laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs) that defeated fixed‑wing UAVs and swarm drones, and other advanced trials that signal India’s expanding high‑technology test ecosystem.
The minister’s framing aligns with New Delhi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat push: DRDO has increasingly co-developed and transferred technologies to Indian primes, MSMEs and start‑ups—seen as well in recent Astra BVR missile, Akash Prime, hypersonic and anti‑ship missile campaigns that featured strong industry participation and drew repeated ministerial plaudits.
Open-source defence trackers also note India’s ULPGM line is intended for platforms such as TAPAS-BH and Archer‑NG UAVs, giving the services a low‑cost, precise, fire‑and‑forget kinetic option for close battlefield interdiction—complementing longer‑range air‑ and surface‑launched PGMs.
What’s next: Expect DRDO to move towards user‑assisted trials, expand seeker/warhead variants (anti‑armour/anti‑personnel), and push for productionisation via private industry—a trajectory Rajnath Singh explicitly referenced in his message. With multiple parallel successes at NOAR, India is steadily closing gaps in UAV‑borne precision strike, counter‑UAV, and directed‑energy portfolios.
