UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Major boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat: DRDO completes development trials of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile-V3 in Air-to-Ground & Air-to-Air modes

Q1. The UAV platform on which the DRDO's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 has been integrated was indigenously developed by which one of the following?

  • A. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bengaluru
  • B. Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad
  • C. NewSpace Research & Technologies, Bengaluru
  • D. Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Ltd, Hyderabad

Q2. With reference to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile-V3 (ULPGM-V3) whose development trials were completed in 2026, which one of the following is the nodal DRDO laboratory that developed the missile?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune
  • D. High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune

Q3. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which completed the development trials of ULPGM-V3 in 2026, 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

Q4. Which one of the following DRDO laboratories served as the nodal laboratory for the development of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM-V3)?

  • A. Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad
  • D. Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), Bengaluru

Q5. With reference to the recently tested Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 programme of DRDO, consider the following statements regarding its industrial and institutional partners: 1. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad is one of the two Development-cum-Production Partners (DcPPs) for the missile. 2. Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited, Hyderabad is the other Development-cum-Production Partner for the missile. 3. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platform used to launch the missile was indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). 4. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad is the nodal DRDO laboratory for the ULPGM-V3 project. Which of the above statements is/are NOT correctly identified?

  1. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad is one of the two Development-cum-Production Partners (DcPPs) for the missile.
  2. Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited, Hyderabad is the other Development-cum-Production Partner for the missile.
  3. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle platform used to launch the missile was indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
  4. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad is the nodal DRDO laboratory for the ULPGM-V3 project.
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 2, 3 and 4

Q6. In the context of DRDO's indigenous weapon programmes such as ULPGM-V3, the term 'Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP)' most appropriately refers to:

  • A. An Indian public-sector or private industry partner that is co-opted alongside the DRDO laboratory during prototype development itself and is simultaneously authorised to undertake series production of the system once trials are completed.
  • B. A foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer that mandatorily transfers technology to an Indian licensee under the offset obligations of the Defence Acquisition Procedure.
  • C. A consortium of IITs and other academic institutions tasked with basic research support for a DRDO nodal laboratory, with no manufacturing role.
  • D. A purely financial co-investor under the Strategic Partnership model that funds the project but takes no part in design, integration or manufacture of the weapon system.

Q7. Which one of the following is the nodal executing agency for the 'Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)' framework under the Ministry of Defence?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
  • B. Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)
  • C. Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA)
  • D. Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

Q8. Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, which one of the following procurement categories enjoys the highest order of priority?

  • A. Buy (Indian)
  • B. Buy and Make (Indian)
  • C. Buy (Indian – Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)
  • D. Buy (Global – Manufacture in India)

Q9. DRDO's recently trialled Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3 is most often described as an indigenous counterpart to which one of the following flagship foreign drone-launched precision-guided munitions?

  • A. AGM-114 Hellfire (United States)
  • B. AIM-120 AMRAAM (United States)
  • C. Storm Shadow / SCALP-EG (United Kingdom-France)
  • D. BrahMos-A (India-Russia)

Q10. With reference to the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3, which one of the following is the nodal DRDO laboratory responsible for its development?

  • A. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad
  • B. Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad
  • C. Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune
  • D. High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune

Q11. As per DRDO, what is the stated endurance (in hours) of the indigenously developed Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV TAPAS-BH carrying EO and SAR payloads?

  • A. 10 hours
  • B. 18 hours
  • C. 24 hours
  • D. 36 hours

Q12. With reference to the indigenous UAV platforms Rustom-1, TAPAS-BH-201 and Archer that could host the DRDO-developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Launched Precision Guided Missile (ULPGM)-V3, consider the following statements: 1. Both Rustom-1 and TAPAS-BH-201 have been developed with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory of DRDO. 2. TAPAS-BH-201 has been developed primarily as an armed strike platform, whereas Rustom-1 was designed purely as an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) UAV. 3. Rustom-1 has demonstrated a higher operational ceiling (altitude) than TAPAS-BH-201. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Both Rustom-1 and TAPAS-BH-201 have been developed with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory of DRDO.
  2. TAPAS-BH-201 has been developed primarily as an armed strike platform, whereas Rustom-1 was designed purely as an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) UAV.
  3. Rustom-1 has demonstrated a higher operational ceiling (altitude) than TAPAS-BH-201.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q13. With reference to recent indigenous weapon systems tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), consider the following pairings of the system with its primary role: 1. Pralay — Solid-propellant short-range quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile 2. NASM-SR — Air-launched anti-ship missile fired from a naval helicopter 3. Akash-NG — Submarine-launched ballistic missile 4. VSHORADS — Vertical-launch long-range surface-to-air missile system for naval platforms Which of the above pairings is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Pralay — Solid-propellant short-range quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile
  2. NASM-SR — Air-launched anti-ship missile fired from a naval helicopter
  3. Akash-NG — Submarine-launched ballistic missile
  4. VSHORADS — Vertical-launch long-range surface-to-air missile system for naval platforms
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q14. The 'Pralay' missile, which recently underwent a salvo launch trial off the Odisha coast as part of its user evaluation, is best described as:

  • A. A submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles
  • B. An indigenously developed solid-propellant, short-range, quasi-ballistic surface-to-surface missile with terminal manoeuvring capability
  • C. An air-launched hypersonic cruise missile powered by a scramjet engine
  • D. A canisterised vertical-launch surface-to-air missile system meant to replace the Akash system
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