DRDO’s new Drone-launched Missile: ULPGM-V3

Why in News?

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) completed the final deliverable configuration development trials of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3.

The trials pave the way for critical user trials by the armed forces, after which the system will be ready for induction.

What Is the ULPGM-V3?

• The ULPGM-V3 (also referred to as ULM-ER: Unmanned Launched Munition–Extended Range) is a fire-and-forget, precision-guided missile specifically engineered for drone warfare. 
• It is designed to be launched from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms and is capable of executing precision strikes against both ground targets (tanks, bunkers, armoured vehicles) and aerial targets (enemy drones, helicopters, and other airborne threats) without requiring direct human piloting or endangering manned aircraft. 

Key Specifications of ULPGM-V3:

• Weight: 12.5 kg (lightweight, compatible with multiple UAV platforms)
• Propulsion: Dual-thrust solid motor. 
• Range: Up to 4 km (day), up to 2.5 km (night); maximum strike range up to 10 km.
• Seeker: High-definition dual-channel Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker
• Guidance: Passive homing; fire-and-forget with post-launch target update capability via two-way data link. 
• Target types: Stationary and moving targets; ground and aerial threats.
• Accuracy: 10 cm Circular Error Probable (CEP)
• Terrain: Operable in plains and high-altitude regions. Operational conditions: All-weather, day and night. 

Warhead Options: 

The ULPGM-V3 can be fitted with three different warhead types depending on mission requirements:

• Anti-Armour Warhead: Designed to destroy heavily protected modern battle tanks, including those equipped with Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) and Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA); two of the most advanced passive protection systems used in contemporary armoured warfare.
• Penetration-Cum-Blast (PCB) Warhead: Designed to pierce and destroy bunkers, hardened fortifications, and reinforced concrete structures.
• Pre-Fragmentation Warhead: Disperses high-velocity metal fragments over a wide area to maximise lethal effect against soft targets and light vehicles, particularly effective against drone swarms and aerial threats.

Strategic Significance: 

• Shift in the character of modern warfare: Drones have transitioned from niche surveillance platforms to central instruments of conventional and asymmetric warfare. UAV swarms are now a frontline threat for India. India has announced a USD 234 million drone incentive programme, emergency procurement of loitering munitions, and adopted the “Eagle in the Arm” doctrine, which envisions every soldier as a trained drone operator by 2027. ULPGM-V3 directly addresses this new threat environment.
• Network-centric warfare: Two-way data link enabling post-launch retargeting reflects the broader shift toward network-centric warfare, where drones, sensors, and command systems operate in a fused, real-time decision environment. This capability is particularly relevant against fast-moving drone threats, where a target may manoeuvre or be replaced by a new priority between launch and impact.
• Reduced risk to soldiers and pilots: UAV-launched weapons eliminate the need to expose manned aircraft or soldiers during strike missions, a force-multiplying advantage in high-attrition environments.
• Aatmanirbharta in Defence: The ULPGM-V3 is a milestone in India’s Defence Production Policy, demonstrating full-stack indigenous capability, from guidance systems and seekers (RCI) to energetic materials (HEMRL) and terminal ballistics (TBRL), with a confirmed serial production supply chain involving MSMEs and the private sector.
• High-altitude relevance: The missile’s design qualification for deployment in both plains and high-altitude regions makes it directly relevant to the Ladakh and Himalayan frontier, where armour operations, helicopters, and drone surveillance are all contested.

India’s Broader Counter-Drone and Drone Warfare Ecosystem: 

1. Offensive systems:

• ULPGM family (V1, V2, V3): UAV-launched precision guided missiles.
• Nagastra-1R: reusable loitering munition (kamikaze drone); inducted in 2025.
• FPV (First-Person View) anti-tank loitering munitions: inducted by the Indian Army in 2025.

2. Counter-drone systems:

• D4 System (Drone Detect, Deter and Destroy): Jointly developed by DRDO and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL); combines radar, electro-optical sensors, RF jamming, GPS spoofing (soft kill), and laser weapons (hard kill); announced for urban deployment in March 2025.
• SAKSHAM Counter-UAS System: Developed by BEL; inducted by the Indian Army from October 2025 for low-altitude air defence.
• Bhargavastra Micro-Missile System: Designed for neutralising drone swarms; launches guided micro-missiles (range 2.5 km) with radar detection up to 6 km.
• Indrajaal: An AI-powered autonomous drone-dome system using HiveMind AI for real-time detection and elimination of hostile UAVs at scale.
• Laser-based directed-energy weapons under development by DRDO, capable of engaging targets at up to 2 km; the Indian Army and IAF are also procuring 16 indigenous drone interdiction systems using 10 kW laser beams.
• Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDD&IS): Deployed along the China border.

The development of drone-launched weapons is one of the DRDO’s focus areas. Drones will see an even greater role in the coming days as they offer significantly reduced risk to human soldiers and pilots, persistent real-time surveillance and precision strike capability.