DRDO successfully flight-tested the third-generation Fire-and-Forget Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) with top-attack capability, signaling progress toward induction into the Indian Army and bolstering defence self-reliance.

Development involved DRDO labs including Research Centre Imarat, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, and Instruments Research and Development Establishment, with Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur contributing the Thermal Target System for simulations.

Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited are serving as production partners, and the missile can be launched from tripod-mounted or vehicle-based launchers.

The article notes that the US approved possible foreign military sales of Javelin components in November, underscoring ongoing US-India defense cooperation.

The MPATGM has an effective range of 4,000 metres, expanding its engagement envelope against tanks and armoured targets.

The test coincides with India’s efforts to augment readiness through imports of US-made Javelin systems, including a planned foreign military sale of rounds, missiles, and launch units.

The flight test demonstrated a steep ascent with a top-attack trajectory and a precise impact, with a warhead detonation producing fire, smoke, and debris on the target’s upper surface.

DRDO officially confirmed the test, framing it within India's ongoing defence modernization program.

A test video shows a two-member crew launching from a tripod-mounted launcher, with the missile following a top-attack path and hitting a target presumed to be an armoured vehicle or tank mock-up.

The test was conducted by DRDO on a Sunday, highlighting a weekend trial in the series of demonstrations.

Separately, leaders urged Indian youth to pursue multidisciplinary learning and dream big in AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and space exploration as part of the vision for a developed India by 2047.

MPATGM is a shoulder-launched, portable system weighing about 14.5 kg with a 14.25 kg command launch unit, designed to counter tanks and armoured vehicles and capable of engaging targets from 200 to 4,000 metres.