Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested indigenously developed Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) on Wednesday, the defence body said, adding that this is a major boost to Atmanirbhar Bharat and strengthening Indian Army.

The missile, which was launched from a man-portable launcher integrated with a thermal sight, hit the target, a dummy tank, and destroyed it with precision, DRDO said. 

“All the mission objectives were met. The missile (Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile) has already been successfully flight-tested for the maximum range. The missile is incorporated with state-of-the-art Miniaturized Infrared Imaging Seeker along with advanced avionics,” DRDO said.

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Here are 10 things you need to know about the missile- 

1. MPATGM is a third-generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM)

2. It is developed by DRDO in partnership with Indian defense contractor VEM Technologies Ltd.

3. The missile has a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead

4. It boasts a top attack capability

5. The missile is for infantry and Parachute (Special Forces) of the Indian Army

6. It is launched from a canister using an Ejection Motor

7. The missile uses a state-of-the-art IIR seeker for homing on to the target

8. It is launched using a tripod

9. The missile is designed for a max. range of 2.5 Km

10. It was first launched in September 2018

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DRDO initially promised to deliver the first MPATGM prototype to the Indian Army for user trials in 2018. The promise was not delivered as the program suffered delays due to technical issues with the new weapon system.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, DRDO also successfully flight tested the New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG) a Surface to Air Missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha on Wednesday.

“The flawless performance of the entire weapon system has been confirmed by complete flight data,” DRDO said.