NEW DELHI: India has successfully test-fired a home-grown ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
Modi said he was “proud” to launch the “first flight test of the indigenous Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology,” in comments on social media platform X.
The MIRV technology allows the Agni-5 to carry multiple nuclear warheads at once, so they can split up and hit different targets. Modi did not give further details about the launch, but India has previously test-fired several Agni-5 missiles developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organisation.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on X that India had “joined a select group of nations” capable of missile technology. Agni, which means “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name of a series of missiles developed in India as part of a missile development project launched in 1983.
While the shorter-range Agni-I and II were developed mainly with arch-rival Pakistan in mind, analysts say the later, longer-range versions reflect a shift in India’s focus on China. In recent years, India has deepened its defense cooperation with Western countries, including through the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan, and Australia.
