Syllabus:

GS3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. 

Context: 

Recently, DRDO successfully conducted flight trials of the UAV-launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

More on the News

• The missile is an enhanced version of the earlier similar development like ULPGM V1 and ULPGM-V2, developed and delivered by the DRDO .
• The missile was released from a UAV indigenously developed by Indian start-up Newspace Research Technologies, Bengaluru. 
• The DRDO is actively pursuing the integration of ULPGM weapons with long-range and high-endurance UAVs from several other Indian companies.
• The present trials were carried out for the Anti-armour configuration.

UAV-launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3

• The ULPGM-V3 is equipped with a high-definition dual-channel seeker that can strike a wide variety of targets. 
• It can be fired in plain and high-altitude areas. 
• It has day-and-night capability and a 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.
• Pre-fragmentation warhead with a high lethality zone.

• Development: The missile is jointly developed by DRDO laboratories, namely 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.

• Range: It can achieve a maximum range of 4 km during the day and 2.5 km at night.

• Weight: ULPGM-V3 weighs 12.5 kg, which enables integration with lightweight drones and can be carried and used by individual soldiers even in remote or hilly areas.

Source: The Hindu 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/drdo-successfully-tests-of-uav-launched-precision-guided-missile/article69853650.ece 

Review Link

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2148320