India on Friday successfully test-fired a missile launched from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and said a sum of Rs 723 crore has been allotted for developing an engine of an armed drone that is under development.The missile test was carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at a test range in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Called the UAV Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM), the missile can strike a wide variety of targets. It can be fired in plain and high-altitude areas and has day-and-night capability. The missile has three warhead options that include destroying tanks and penetrating bunkers.The UAV that released it was indigenously developed by an Indian start-up — Newspace Research Technologies, Bengaluru, the Ministry of Defence said.Also, the DRDO is actively pursuing integration of ULPGM weapons with long-range and high-endurance UAVs from several other Indian companies. Adani Defence, Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad and 30 MSMEs contributed to this project, the MoD said.After the test, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and the industry partners.”This success proves that the Indian industry is now ready to absorb and produce critical defence technologies,” Singh said.Separately India’s indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), named Ghatak, has got a funding of Rs 723 crore for developing its engine. The project is under development.The Ministry of Defence today informed Parliament that Rs 723 crore has been allocated for making an engine for the UCAV. A derivative of the ‘Kaveri engine’, called the Kaveri Derivative Engine (KDE), is to be the power plant for this remotely piloted strike aircraft.Two projects have been sanctioned for this — the first is the development of a flightworthy ‘Kaveri Dry Engine’ that has been given Rs 472.42 crore and the other involves allocation of a sum of Rs 251.17 crore to produce the Kaveri Derivative ‘Dry’ Engine.Development-cum-production-partners have been identified to ensure faster prototype development and faster transition to production phase of the engine , the MoD told the Lok Sabha in a written reply to a questions posed by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. The Ghatak is being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), that is under the DRDO.The Ghatak UCAV will have an internal weapons bay for carrying missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions. Its design will be based on a flying-wing concept, sources added. The first flight of a scaled down test-bed was carried out in July 2022 and the full scale prototype is expected this year or the next year.
India successfully test-fires drone-launched missile
