The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully conducted the inaugural flight trial of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon off the coast of Odisha on Thursday, as announced by the Defence Ministry. TARA is India’s first indigenous glide weapon system, designed to convert unguided warheads into precision-guided munitions for targeting ground objectives.

Developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in Hyderabad, alongside other DRDO laboratories, TARA aims to improve the lethality and accuracy of low-cost weapons against ground targets, according to a Ministry of Defence release. This glide weapon employs advanced low-cost systems and its development involved collaboration with Development cum Production Partners (DcPP) and other Indian industries, which have commenced production activities.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the DRDO, IAF, DcPP, and the industry for the successful maiden flight trial, calling it a significant advancement in India’s indigenous defence capabilities. Samir V Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, also extended his congratulations to the teams involved in the successful trial.