Why in news?
On 7 May 2026 the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force carried out the maiden flight trial of the Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon off the coast of Odisha. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the teams and said the test marked a major step towards self‑reliant precision weapons.
Background
TARA is India’s first indigenous glide weapon kit. It is a modular system that can be fitted to unguided bombs, converting them into precision‑guided munitions. The kit was designed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat and other laboratories, with production partners already lined up for manufacture.
Key points
- The weapon attaches to 500‑kilogram and 1000‑kilogram general purpose bombs. Once released from an aircraft at heights of 10,000–45,000 feet and speeds around Mach 0.8, the kit guides the bomb to targets up to 80–100 kilometres away.
- Two guidance variants are under development: a Satellite‑Aided Terminal (SAT) variant with a circular error probable under 20 metres, and an Uncooled Imaging Infra‑Red (UC‑IIR) variant with accuracy within three metres. Both variants improve precision and reduce collateral damage.
- DRDO emphasises that TARA uses low‑cost subsystems, making it affordable for mass production. Success of the maiden flight allows the programme to proceed to user trials.
- Indigenously developed glide weapons like TARA strengthen the Indian Air Force’s ability to strike targets from long range without entering heavily defended airspace.