India’s Portable Anti-Tank Missile Enters Final User Evaluation Phase, Competing U.S. Javelin.

DRDO’s Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) is near to battlefield readiness with Indian Army, after a new round of user-led evaluations. The report characterises MPATGM as India’s portable tank buster, pointing to fire and forget guidance, a top attack profile, and steady progress from successful Pokhran campaigns into final acceptance steps.

The Army aims to bid-adieu to MILAN and Konkurs stocks and replace them with an indigenous, lighter two-person system that pairs a thermal CLU for day and night engagements. For frontline units, that timeline restores dismounted anti-armour reach while tightening India’s control over a critical precision weapon line.

The MPATGM is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, top-attack missile sized for a two-man team. The round measures roughly 1.3 metres in length with a 120 millimetre diameter and weighs about 14.5 kilograms. The Command Launch Unit adds approximately 14.25 kilograms and combines a digital day sight with thermal imaging for lock-on before launch in both direct and lofted attack profiles. Published figures place maximum effective range in the 2.5 Kilometre class, with some sources noting growth toward 04 kilometres depending on configuration, which puts the Indian system in the same tactical bracket as Western peers.

DRDO describes a dual-mode imaging infrared guidance package with top-attack capability validated in April 2024 trials, a combination that lets gunners engage from cover and immediately relocate to avoid counterfire. Indian deep-tech firm Tonbo Imaging has been linked to the development of an uncooled IIR seeker, a design choice that can reduce cost and simplify sustainment relative to cooled seekers while preserving day-night target discrimination.

The Army intends MPATGM to displace aging MILAN and Konkurs across infantry, parachute and special forces units, restoring dismounted anti-armour punch at altitude and in dense urban spaces. A 2024 Ministry of Defence request for information seeking more than 20,000 next-generation ATGMs and 1,500 launchers, with associated simulators, underscores the scale of the anti-armour recapitalization now underway. While the RFI is competition-agnostic, MPATGM’s progress and indigenous content position it as a leading candidate for volume fielding once user trials close.

MPATGM gives Indian platoons a standoff kill option against modern main battle tanks protected by explosive reactive armour. The tandem HEAT warhead is validated in penetration trials against contemporary armour classes, and fire-and-forget autonomy enables rapid shoot-and-scoot from rooftop, saddle and defile positions common along the LoC and in Ladakh. As active protection systems proliferate, top-attack angles and reduced signature launches complicate interception, though real-world performance against cutting-edge hard to kill suites will be a focus area during final evaluations.

Logistics and training are already included in the plan. The RFI’s requirement for simulators fits an Army training pipeline that will have to qualify large cohorts of gunners quickly, with the CLU doubling as a thermal surveillance asset for patrols when the missile is not loaded. DRDO says the system has completed technology development and is now in the user-evaluation lane, a phase that will include stress shots in extreme cold, dust and urban clutter before the Army signs off on the soldier-portable configuration.

The benchmark comparison remains the U.S. Javelin and Israel’s Spike LR2. Javelin traditionally offers a 2.5 Kilometre envelope, extended to around 04 kilometres with the Lightweight CLU, and weighs about 22.3 kilograms ready to fire. Spike LR2 stretches to roughly 5.5 kilometres with a 13 kilogram missile and multipurpose warhead options. MPATGM’s weight, seeker concept and top-attack profile land squarely in this tier, with supply assurance and cost control as India’s differentiators.

The program’s arc reflects a deliberate industrial build-up. Development kicked off in the mid-2010s, with a dedicated production line inaugurated at Bharat Dynamics’ Bhanur unit in 2018 to anchor eventual serial manufacture. Early firings in Rajasthan proved guidance and flight stability, and the April 2024 Pokhran campaign closed out warhead validation under Army observation. If final user evaluations track to plan, deliveries could begin for operational units in 2026, with scale-up to follow as Army acceptance widens.

No foreign military fields MPATGM yet, but the export potential is real. India has already filled near-term gaps with small emergency buys of Spike, and several Asian and African armies that operate second-generation missiles are likely to watch the Indian induction for a lower-cost, ITAR-free alternative. BDL, the prime missile house, is positioned to market once domestic orders are secured. Unit prices have not been disclosed, and DRDO has not released total planned quantities specific to MPATGM.

Team Maverick