On Friday, July 25, 2025, India’s state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced that it had tested the ULPGM-V3 (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile), a lightweight anti-tank missile designed for deployment on small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Photo: DRDO
During live-fire testing at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, in southeastern India, the ULPGM-V3 missile was successfully launched from a multirotor vertical takeoff and landing UAV developed by the Indian startup Newspace Research Technologies from Bengaluru. This is an improved version of the ULPGM-V2 missile, previously developed under the auspices of DRDO.
ULPGM V3, also known as ULM-ER, weighs 12.5 kg and has a range of 2.5 km at night and up to 4 km during the day. It is powered by a compact, two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor. The missile is equipped with a dual-channel, high-resolution infrared (IIR) seeker, enabling it to engage a wide range of targets in all weather conditions, both day and night. Thanks to its two-way data link, the operator can update the target or aim point after launch.
The missile can be fitted with three types of modular 2 kg warheads: an anti-tank warhead capable of penetrating lightly armored rolled homogeneous armor (RHA) with additional explosive reactive armor (ERA); a penetration-cum-blast (PCB) warhead; and a pre-fragmentation warhead with a large area of effect.
The missile was developed jointly by several DRDO laboratories, including the 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.
DRDO is actively pursuing the integration of the ULPGM family of missiles with long-range, long-endurance drones from various Indian companies, such as TAPAS BH, Archer NG, and hexacopters. Partners in the program include Adani Defence and Bharat Dynamics Limited from Hyderabad, along with 30 small and medium enterprises/startups.
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO and its industrial partners on the development and successful test of the ULPGM-V3 system. He described the success as proof that the Indian industry is now capable of absorbing and producing key defense technologies. Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, congratulated the teams, stating that the development of such weaponry is a pressing need.
As part of the program, a prototype ULPGM V1 was developed, measuring 680–690 mm in length, 100 mm in diameter, with a wingspan of 200 mm, weighing 5 kg, and with a range of 1.5–2 km. It was unpowered and glided toward its target from an altitude of 750–2000 meters. It carried an IIR seeker and a 2 kg warhead for engaging personnel, an anti-tank warhead with an explosively formed penetrator, and a PCB variant.
The aforementioned ULPGM V2, now in serial production, has an increased weight of 8.5 kg due to the addition of a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor with thrust vectoring. It also received an S-band data link, and its range has been extended to 4–6 km. A total of 200 units were ordered for 105 crore INR, or 1.05 billion INR. The missile was used in combat against Pakistan during the recent Operation Sindur.
ULPGM missiles are fire-and-forget weapons. Only 19 months passed between the concept and the production of versions V1 and V2. In the further development of V3, plans are in place to increase the range to 10 km and integrate a seeker guided by S-band radar.
In a major boost to India’s defence capabilities, DRDO successfully carried out flight trials of UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 in the National Open Area Range (NOAR), test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. ULPGM-V3 is an enhanced version of the ULPGM-V2 missile… pic.twitter.com/WMqSzfgYmw
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) July 25, 2025
