India just achieved a major military breakthrough. On Monday, 12 January 2026, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested a brand-new anti-tank missile that soldiers can carry on their shoulders and fire at enemy tanks.
DRDO’s New Shoulder-Fired Missile Ready for the Army
India just achieved a major military breakthrough. On Monday, 12 January 2026, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested a brand-new anti-tank missile that soldiers can carry on their shoulders and fire at enemy tanks. This isn’t just any missile—it’s a “fire and forget” weapon, meaning once you launch it, the missile finds and destroys the target all by itself. You don’t need to guide it manually.
Think of it like a heat-seeking arrow. The soldier aims at an enemy tank, fires the missile, and can immediately take cover or move to another position. The missile does the rest of the work. It locks onto the tank using heat sensors and flies directly toward it. What makes this even more clever is that the missile attacks from the top, striking the tank’s roof, which is the thinnest and most vulnerable part. Tank designers make the front and sides very thick to protect against direct hits, but they can’t make the top as heavy because the tank needs to move. This missile exploits that weakness.
The official name is Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile, or MPATGM for short. “Man portable” simply means one soldier can carry it, unlike older anti-tank weapons that needed vehicles or multiple people to move around. This gives infantry soldiers—the troops who fight on foot—a powerful weapon against armoured vehicles without requiring heavy equipment.
The missile uses several advanced technologies, all developed in India. The imaging infrared homing seeker is like night-vision goggles for the missile. It detects the heat signature of a tank’s engine and metal body, creating a thermal image that helps the missile track its target even in complete darkness or through smoke. This means Indian soldiers can use this weapon effectively both during daytime battles and night operations.
The fire control system is the brain of the operation. It’s essentially a sophisticated computer that a soldier uses to identify the target, measure how far away it is, calculate how fast it’s moving, and determine the best moment to fire. Once the soldier pulls the trigger, the all-electric control system takes over, making tiny adjustments to the missile’s flight path to ensure it stays on course. The tandem warhead is particularly ingenious—it uses two separate explosive charges. The first charge explodes to break through the tank’s reactive armour or outer protective layer, and immediately after, the second charge detonates to destroy the tank itself.
During the test, the missile successfully hit a moving tank at its maximum range of 4,000 metres, which is 4 kilometres or roughly 2.5 miles. This distance is crucial because it means soldiers can destroy enemy tanks while staying far enough away to remain safe from the tank’s own weapons.
This weapon system was developed primarily by DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Hyderabad, but it represents a true team effort across India. Other DRDO centres contributed critical components: Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad provided advanced guidance systems, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh worked on warhead effectiveness, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory in Pune developed the propulsion fuel, and Instruments Research and Development Establishment in Dehradun created precision sensors.
To test the missile properly, Defence Laboratory created a special thermal target system that mimics the heat signature of real tanks, allowing researchers to conduct realistic practice runs without destroying actual military vehicles.
Now that testing is complete, two major Indian defence companies—Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited—will manufacture the missile in large quantities for the Indian Army. This is a significant step toward “Atmanirbhar Bharat” or self-reliant India in defence technology, reducing dependence on expensive foreign weapons.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO team and industry partners, calling it a proud moment for Indian defence capabilities. Dr Samir V. Kamat, the Chairman of DRDO, confirmed that the successful trial clears the path for the Indian Army to officially add this weapon to its arsenal.
This indigenous anti-tank missile represents years of research, collaboration across multiple Indian institutions, and a commitment to developing cutting-edge military technology at home. For India’s armed forces, it’s a game-changing weapon that makes infantry units significantly more lethal against armoured threats.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own and do not reflect those of DNA)
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany)
