Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation have given the country yet another reason to be proud. On Sunday, DRDO successfully tested a low-weight indigenously developed man-portable anti-tank guided missile(MPATGM). The testing took place in Ahmednagar range.

Explaining the triumphant feat, the Defence ministry said the two flight-tests were for different ranges, including maximum range capability. The two tests have met all the expected mission objectives. It was told apart from standing-alone and warhead testing, the missile also had undergone a series of tests including the integrated static trial to characterize trust vector control. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledged the hard toil of the DRDO workforce, Indian Army and the associated industries for the success.

In August this year, Ministry had disclosed that Indigenously-developed guided bombs, Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons (SAAW) and anti-tank guided missile named 'Helena' was successfully flight tested. The Ministry of Defence explained SAAW was integrated with the live warhead and it can hit the targets successfully with high precision. The indigenously-developed helicopter-launched 'Helena missile' had been successfully flighting tested; it tracked the target and hit with high precision.

The success of the indigenously developed missiles has helped India to replace the second generation French origin anti-tank missile Milan and Soviet semi-automatic wire-guided Konkur, which are in service with the Indian Army. MPATGM( Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile) is third generation anti-tank missile, developed by DRDO. The missile has the strike range of 2.5 km. It weighs around 14.5 kg to maintain man-portability. It will be deployed in infantry and parachute battalion of Indian Army. So the development will help in the strength of the Indian Army. This is a commendable boast to Make in India initiative.