UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — DRDO & IAF successfully conduct maiden flight-trial of Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation weapon

Q1. Which one of the following is India's first indigenous glide weapon system designed to convert unguided warheads into precision-guided munitions?

  • A. Sudarshan Laser-Guided Bomb
  • B. Gaurav Long-Range Glide Bomb
  • C. Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA)
  • D. Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)

Q2. The TARA (Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation) weapon system has been designed and developed by which one of the following DRDO laboratories?

  • A. Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune
  • D. Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad

Q3. The Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon, whose maiden flight-trial was conducted jointly with the Indian Air Force in May 2026, was designed and developed under the lead of which one of the following DRDO laboratories?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru
  • D. Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune

Q4. With reference to the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon recently flight-tested by DRDO and the Indian Air Force, which one of the following best describes what TARA is?

  • A. A standalone indigenous air-launched cruise missile powered by a turbojet engine for deep stand-off strike
  • B. A modular glide-kit that fits onto existing unguided bombs to convert them into precision-guided, range-extended munitions
  • C. A long-range surface-to-air interceptor missile developed for the Ballistic Missile Defence programme
  • D. A satellite-aided correction kit fitted to 155 mm artillery shells to provide terminal precision guidance

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad: 1. It is one of the constituent laboratories of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex. 2. It functions as a premier avionics laboratory engaged in navigation, guidance and mission-sequencing systems for missiles. 3. It is an autonomous research institution under the Department of Atomic Energy. 4. It has been associated with the indigenous development of the VSHORADS man-portable air defence system. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It is one of the constituent laboratories of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex.
  2. It functions as a premier avionics laboratory engaged in navigation, guidance and mission-sequencing systems for missiles.
  3. It is an autonomous research institution under the Department of Atomic Energy.
  4. It has been associated with the indigenous development of the VSHORADS man-portable air defence system.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Which one of the following DRDO laboratories functioned as the lead/nodal laboratory for the indigenous design and development of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) glide-weapon kit?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad
  • C. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • D. Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru

Q7. The 'Development cum Production Partner (DcPP)' model, under which the recently flight-tested TARA glide-weapon kit is being produced, is a policy framework of which one of the following organisations?

  • A. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)
  • B. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
  • C. Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA)
  • D. Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM)

Q8. DRDO, which operationalises the Development cum Production Partner (DcPP) model used for the TARA weapon, functions under which one of the following Departments of the Ministry of Defence?

  • A. Department of Defence Production
  • B. Department of Military Affairs
  • C. Department of Defence Research and Development
  • D. Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare

Q9. With reference to indigenous Indian precision-guided air-to-surface munitions, which of the following pairings of weapon and its lead developing DRDO laboratory are correctly identified?

  1. Sudarshan Laser-Guided Bomb kit — Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru
  2. Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) — Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  3. Gaurav Long-Range Glide Bomb — Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune
  4. Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) — Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q10. In contemporary military aviation, the term 'stand-off weapon', as used for systems such as the indigenous glide-bomb kit, is best defined as a munition which:

  • A. can be released by the launching platform from a distance well outside the engagement envelope of the target's point air defences and then guides itself to the target
  • B. is fired from the ground in a near-vertical trajectory to intercept incoming aerial threats at high altitude
  • C. must be released directly over the target after visual identification by the pilot, relying on gravity alone for terminal accuracy
  • D. is sustained in cruise flight by an air-breathing turbojet engine and follows a sea-skimming profile to evade radar

Q11. With reference to DRDO weapon and missile systems, consider the following systems that underwent flight-trials in 2026 from test ranges along the Odisha coast: 1. Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) glide-weapon kit 2. Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) — successive trials from ITR Chandipur 3. Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology demonstration from ITR Chandipur 4. Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) — maiden flight-tests Which of the above is/are correctly identified as having been flight-tested in the year 2026?

  1. Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) glide-weapon kit
  2. Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) — successive trials from ITR Chandipur
  3. Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology demonstration from ITR Chandipur
  4. Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) — maiden flight-tests
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. With reference to the 'Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA)' system whose maiden flight-trial was conducted by DRDO and the Indian Air Force in 2026, which one of the following best describes it?

  • A. A modular glide-kit, strapped onto unguided iron bombs, that converts them into precision-guided, range-extended munitions
  • B. A canister-launched, short-range, surface-to-surface conventional ballistic missile with a quasi-ballistic trajectory
  • C. A solid-fuel ducted ramjet propulsion technology developed for next-generation long-range air-to-air missiles
  • D. A high-power laser-based directed-energy weapon integrated with quick-reaction surface-to-air missiles for layered air defence