India conducts trial of MIRV-capable Agni missile

India's DRDO conducted a flight-trial of the ‘Advanced Agni' missile, incorporating MIRVs, on 8 May. (PIB/DRDO)

India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a flight trial of a variant of its Agni intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) incorporating multiple independently targeted re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the “Advanced Agni” trial was conducted on 8 May at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the northeastern coast of Odisha. According to the MoD, the missile carried multiple payloads intended to strike “different targets spatially distributed over a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean Region”.

“The telemetry and tracking was 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,” the MoD said, adding that the trial demonstrated the capability to “target multiple strategic targets using a single missile system”.

The MoD said that flight data confirmed that all mission objectives were met in the trial, but it did not disclose the evaluation parameters.

Janes analysis of images of the trial released by the MoD suggests that the new ‘Advanced Agni' closely resembles the Agni V missile currently in service with the Indian Army. However, the variant appears to feature a modified warhead designed to accommodate MIRV payloads.

The latest flight trial follows DRDO's first test-firing of an Agni V IRBM fitted with MIRV capability in March 2024, when the missile's ability to carry multiple warheads was demonstrated.

Agni V is a road-mobile IRBM capable of carrying either a single warhead or multiple warheads to ranges up to 5,500 km. It is a three-stage version of the Agni III rail-mobile IRBM and is capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads.