Rajnath Singh Lauds DRDO and Armed Forces After Successful Pralay Tests

New Delhi, 29 July 2025

India has taken a significant leap in strengthening its defence capabilities with the successful completion of two consecutive flight tests of the Pralay missile by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on July 28 and 29, 2025. Conducted as part of user evaluation trials, the tests took place from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, aiming to validate the missile’s minimum and maximum range performance. According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), both missiles successfully followed their designated trajectories and struck their targets with high precision, meeting all test objectives. The performance of each subsystem was confirmed using data collected by multiple tracking instruments, including sensors placed on a ship near the impact site.

The Pralay missile is an indigenously developed, solid-propellant, quasi-ballistic missile, known for its high accuracy, made possible by advanced guidance and navigation systems. It is capable of carrying a variety of warheads to neutralize multiple types of targets. With assistance from industry partners like Bharat Dynamics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, and numerous MSMEs throughout the nation, DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat developed the missile system in conjunction with important DRDO labs like the Defence Research & Development Laboratory and the Advanced Systems Laboratory.

Senior DRDO scientists, representatives from the defence industry, and officials from the Indian Army and Air Force observed the successful experiments. The new missile system will greatly increase India’s military might, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who thanked DRDO, the Armed Forces, and industry partners on the successful testing. He highlighted DRDO’s ongoing success in indigenous defence innovation when he posted the accomplishment on social media. The completion of these Phase-1 flight tests will make it easier for the missile to be incorporated into the Indian Armed Forces in the near future, said Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Chairman of the DRDO and Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D, who also commended the teams.

Two consecutive flight trials of ‘PRALAY’ missile was successfully carried out on 28th and 29th July 2025 as a part of User Evaluation Trials to validate the maximum and minimum range capability of the missile system. The missiles precisely followed the intended trajectory and… pic.twitter.com/jhr0fTMZuF

— DRDO (@DRDO_India) July 29, 2025

In another significant development, on July 25, 2025, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted a flight test of the ULPGM-V3 (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile) at the National Open Area Range (NOAR) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. This latest version of the missile, an upgraded variant of the ULPGM-V2, is designed to engage a wide range of targets in both plains and high-altitude terrains, thanks to its high-definition dual-channel seeker. It features day-and-night operational capability and a two-way data link, allowing for post-launch target and aim-point updates.

The missile is equipped with three modular warhead options to suit various mission requirements: an anti-armour warhead capable of penetrating modern tanks with Rolled Homogeneous Armour (RHA) and Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA); a penetration-cum-blast warhead designed for anti-bunker applications; and a pre-fragmentation warhead that delivers high lethality across a wide area.

These back-to-back successes reflect DRDO’s strong commitment to advancing indigenous defence technologies and enhancing India’s national security architecture.