DRDO successfully fires man-portable anti-tank missile

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday successfully flight-tested an indigenous man-portable anti-tank guided missile, raising hopes for the Army, which needs such weapons.

The low-weight, fire and forget missile was launched from a range at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.

Released from a man-portable tripod launcher, the missile hit the target in top attack mode and destroyed it with precision, meeting every mission objectives. The target mimicked a functional tank.

This is the third successful testing of the DRDO-made MPATGM, which would pave the way for the Army to have the indigenous third-generation man-portable anti-tank guided missile, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art infrared imaging seeker along with advanced avionics.

While the official statement doesn't disclose the missile's range, there are reports that say the home-made MPATGM has a range of 2.5 km.

“MPATGM trials would be completed by next year. Its range is comparable to Javelin (US anti-tank guided missile),” DRDO chairman G Sateesh Reddy told DH in a recent interview.

The effective firing range of Javelin varies between 2.5 to 4.7 km.

The Indian Army has a requirement of 40,000 anti-tank guided missiles in the next 20 years, but the indigenous anti-tank missile Nag is yet to be inducted into the service after research, development and trials.

Currently, the army uses second-generation ATGMs like Russian Konkurs and French Milan 2T.