New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday complimented Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful flight test of Third Generation Fire and Forget Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) with top attack capability, an official said on Monday.

The missile was flight-tested successfully against a moving target in KK Ranges, Ahilya Nagar, Maharashtra, by DRDO’s Defence Research & Development Laboratory, Hyderabad, on Sunday, the official said in a statement.

Rajnath Singh also complimented the industry for the successful test, terming it an important step towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Congratulating the team, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Samir V Kamat said that the trial target was successfully conducted, thereby leading the weapon system for induction into the Indian Army.

The indigenously developed MPATGM consists of state-of-the-art indigenous technologies like Imaging Infrared (IIR) Homing Seeker, all-electric Control Actuation System, Fire Control System, Tandem Warhead, propulsion system and high-performance sighting system, which are developed by DRDO’s sister laboratories.

These associated labs include Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory, Pune, and Instruments Research and Development Establishment, Dehradun.

The Thermal Target System was developed by the Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, to simulate the target tank. The IIR seeker is well accomplished with day and night combat operation capability. The warhead is capable of defeating modern main Battle Tanks.

Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited are the Development-Cum-Production Partners (DcPP) for the weapon System. The missile can be launched from a Tripod or a Military Vehicle Launcher, said the statement.

Earlier on Friday, the Defence Minister described the youth of the country as the driving force behind the country’s aspirations for building a Viksit Bharat by 2047 and exhorted them to “dream big, but cautioned against not letting those dreams weigh one’s own self down.

He praised the diverse achievements of the youth, expressing confidence in their creativity, ambition, and determination to propel India into the ranks of developed nations.

He urged the youth to embrace multidisciplinary learning, keeping pace with emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, and space exploration.

“Learning never stops. Absorb lessons from new practices, from your own mistakes, and from the experiences of others. Dream big—but don’t let those dreams weigh you down,” Defence Minister Singh advised the youth.

–IANS

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