India on Friday successfully flight-tested an advanced variant of its most potent Agni missile equipped with a multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) system from a defence facility off the Odisha coast, government officials said Saturday.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the nuclear-capable intercontinental range MIRV Agni missile was test-fired from Complex IV of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the APJ Abdul Kalam Island at about 6.30 p.m. on Friday.
“The missile was flight-tested in a depressed trajectory. It carried multiple payloads that were directed towards different targets spread across a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean region, validating one of the most complex strategic technologies in modern missile warfare,” a defence official told Business Standard.
The successful trial marks another milestone in India’s strategic weapons programme and signals the operational maturation of technologies first demonstrated under ‘Mission Divyastra’, when India announced its first successful MIRV flight on the Agni platform in March 2024.
The latest test further establishes India’s capability to deploy multiple warheads from a single missile and strike widely-dispersed targets with precision, substantially enhancing the survivability and credibility of its nuclear deterrent.
Defence sources said, the telemetry and tracking were carried out by multiple ground and ship-based stations. These systems tracked the entire missile trajectory from lift-off till the impact of all payloads. Flight data confirmed that all mission objectives have been successfully met during the trial.
“With this successful trial, India once again demonstrated the capability to target multiple strategic targets using a single missile system,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement.
The advanced variant of Agni missile with a strike range of more than 5,000 km has been developed by DRDO laboratories and Indian defence industries. The trial was witnessed by senior scientists of DRDO and the Indian Army personnel.
With MIRV capability, India joins a small group of countries possessing this technology, including the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. The technology is widely regarded as a hallmark of mature strategic nuclear forces.
Since India follows a doctrine of credible minimum deterrence and a no-first-use policy, MIRV capability will significantly strengthen its second-strike ability to retaliate even after absorbing a first attack.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented DRDO, Indian Army and Industry partners for the successful flight-test. “This will add an incredible capability to the country’s defence preparedness against growing threat perceptions,” Singh said.
What MIRV capability means
MIRV technology enables a single ballistic missile to carry several warheads, each capable of being programmed to hit a different target.
After the missile completes its boost phase and reaches exo-atmospheric altitude, a post-boost vehicle releases each warhead individually along different trajectories before they re-enter the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
“An MIRVed missile can neutralise multiple strategic targets, including command centres, air bases, missile silos or hardened military infrastructure spread hundreds of kilometres apart. The technology also complicates enemy missile-defence mechanisms as interceptors designed to engage one incoming re-entry vehicle suddenly have to deal with several simultaneously approaching warheads,” said a defence scientist, on condition of anonymity.
As of now, the only officially acknowledged Indian missile to have demonstrated MIRV capability is the Agni-V. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and DRDO had confirmed on March 11, 2024 that the Agni-V successfully carried MIRVs under Mission Divyastra.
DRDO is currently developing Agni-VI, which will have an operational range of over 10,000 km. Defence analysts believe future strategic systems such as Agni-VI and submarine-launched long range missiles may eventually incorporate MIRV technology for modern strategic deterrence.
