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India Successfully Tests Indigenous MPATGM Anti-Tank Guided Missile Against Moving Target.
India has successfully flight-tested its indigenous Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile in a top-attack profile against a moving armoured target in Maharashtra, according to the Ministry of Defence. The result confirms the maturity of a third-generation fire-and-forget system that could reshape the Indian Army’s close-combat anti-armour capability.
On 12 January 2026, India’s Ministry of Defence announced that the Defence Research and Development Organisation had successfully flight-tested the Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile in a top-attack profile against a moving target at KK Ranges in Maharashtra. The test confirms the maturity of a fully indigenous third-generation fire-and-forget weapon for infantry use. Long dependent on imported and licence-produced anti-tank systems, India now marks a concrete step toward operational self-reliance, with the successful top-attack engagement of a moving armoured target carrying clear implications for the Indian Army’s future anti-armour posture.
India’s DRDO has validated its indigenous MPATGM by striking a moving armoured target in a top-attack profile, sharpening the Indian Army’s infantry anti-tank punch and advancing defence self-reliance (Picture Source: India’s Ministry of Defence)
The MPATGM is a third-generation, fire-and-forget man-portable anti-tank guided missile designed to defeat modern main battle tanks through both direct-attack and top-attack modes. The missile incorporates an Imaging Infrared (IIR) homing seeker, an all-electric control actuation system, a tandem high-explosive anti-tank warhead, a solid-propellant propulsion system and a high-performance fire control and sighting suite. The missile round is about 1.3 metres long, 120 mm in diameter and weighs roughly 14.5 kg, while the command launch unit weighs about 14.25 kg and combines a digital day sight with a thermal imager. Together, the system is optimised for a two-person team and can be launched from a lightweight tripod or from a vehicle-mounted launcher, giving flexibility for dismounted infantry, mechanised formations and special forces.
The latest firing at KK Ranges used a Thermal Target System developed by Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur to simulate the signature and movement of a tank. The IIR seeker enables lock-on-before-launch and day-and-night operation, allowing the missile to engage targets at ranges typically between 200 m and 4 km. During the trial, the missile was flown in a top-attack profile, climbing after launch and then diving onto the target’s upper surfaces, which are generally less protected than frontal or side armour. The Ministry of Defence and DRDO released a short video on X showing the launch, the characteristic lofted trajectory and the vertical impact on the simulated target, providing visual confirmation of the test and illustrating the top-attack engagement sequence to a wider audience. This public dissemination of footage reinforces the message that the system has reached a level of maturity suitable for operational induction rather than laboratory demonstration alone.
The MPATGM’s development is part of India’s broader effort to move from licence-built second-generation missiles to indigenous third-generation systems. Formally launched as a programme in the mid-2010s, MPATGM has undergone multiple firing campaigns to validate its guidance, warhead and range performance, including earlier tests against static targets and in different attack profiles. Over time, the trials have progressively increased in complexity, culminating in the 11 January 2026 test against a moving target in top-attack mode. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have been closely associated as Development-cum-Production Partners from an early stage, ensuring that design decisions are aligned with future industrialisation and that production can ramp up once user evaluations are complete. Following this successful trial, DRDO’s senior leadership has indicated that the system is now ready for induction into the Indian Army, marking the transition from a long-running development effort to a fieldable capability.
From a tactical perspective, MPATGM is intended to replace legacy second-generation wire-guided systems such as MILAN and Konkurs that equip many Indian infantry and mechanised units. Its fire-and-forget IIR seeker allows the operator to acquire a target, lock on, fire and then move immediately, reducing exposure to counter-fire and surveillance. The tandem warhead is designed to defeat explosive reactive armour and the base armour of contemporary main battle tanks, addressing one of the main limitations of older single-charge missiles against modern vehicles. In terms of basic performance, the system occupies the same general range bracket as Western and Israeli references such as the FGM-148 Javelin and the Spike family, offering direct and top-attack modes. However, MPATGM is tailored to Indian requirements in weight, ergonomics and environmental robustness, including operation in high-temperature deserts, dense urban areas and high-altitude terrain. This makes it particularly suitable for the diverse conditions along India’s northern and western borders, where small units must often carry all their anti-armour firepower on foot.
The January 2026 test is tactically important because it validates reliable top-attack performance against a moving target rather than a static hull on a range. Modern armoured doctrine relies heavily on speed, short exposure times and the use of cover and terrain to reduce vulnerability to guided weapons. A missile that can acquire, track and strike a moving vehicle in a lofted trajectory imposes a more serious constraint on such manoeuvre tactics. The use of a sophisticated thermal target simulator suggests that DRDO is testing not only the missile’s flight profile but also the seeker’s ability to discriminate a genuine target within a cluttered infrared background. Recent conflicts, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, have shown widespread use of camouflage, decoys, multi-spectral smoke and other counter-measures; demonstrating robust performance against moving, realistic signatures is therefore essential. By achieving this with a domestically developed IIR seeker and guidance suite, India also avoids dependence on foreign algorithms and sensor technologies that may be subject to export control or operational restrictions.
In operational terms, MPATGM gives infantry and special forces a modern, layered anti-armour tool that complements heavier vehicle-mounted missiles and artillery-delivered munitions. Deployed along the Line of Control with Pakistan, it strengthens the ability of small units to engage tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in narrow valleys, built-up areas or reverse slopes where direct lines of sight for heavier platforms may be limited. Along the Line of Actual Control with China, its man-portable configuration and tripod launcher make it suitable for high-altitude positions where logistics are demanding and mobility is constrained. Beyond the immediate battlefield, the presence of modern top-attack missiles at section and platoon level has a deterrent effect, forcing potential adversaries to account for the risk of losing high-value armoured assets even to relatively small infantry detachments.
MPATGM is one of the flagship programmes associated with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat agenda in defence. Key technologies such as the IIR seeker, tandem warhead, propulsion and electronic control systems are concentrated within DRDO and Indian industry, building domestic know-how in an area where many exporting countries are traditionally cautious about technology transfer. BDL’s role as production agency leverages decades of experience in missile manufacture, while BEL contributes in fire control, electronics and sighting systems, anchoring work in multiple industrial centres across the country. Politically, the messaging has been explicit: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has described the successful test as “an important step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, underlining that the programme is seen not only as a military asset but also as a symbol of technological sovereignty.
At the geopolitical level, the successful top-attack test shows that India is increasingly able to meet its own needs for advanced land combat systems at a time of rising global demand for anti-tank weapons. Once the Indian Army’s requirements are covered and the system has accumulated sufficient operational experience, MPATGM could be positioned as an export product for partner nations in Asia, Africa and the Indian Ocean region that wish to diversify suppliers and seek systems with fewer restrictive conditions.
By demonstrating a fully indigenous, third-generation, fire-and-forget missile in a demanding top-attack engagement against a moving target, India has crossed a qualitative threshold in infantry anti-armour capability. The test at KK Ranges confirms that technologies developed over years across multiple DRDO laboratories and industrial partners have converged into a system ready for fielding with front-line units. For the Indian Army, MPATGM promises a more modern, resilient and autonomous response to enemy armour at the tactical level. For India’s defence ecosystem, it shows that sustained investment in domestic research, development and industrial partnerships can deliver complex, exportable capabilities in one of the most sensitive segments of modern warfare, reinforcing both national security and strategic autonomy.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.