DRDO launches Agni-Prime IRBM from rail-mobile launcher

The range of the Agni-P -- 1,000-2,000 km -- is too short to strike the Chinese mainland, but can cover all of Pakistan’s territory

By Ajai Shukla

25th September 2025

 

DRDO, in collaboration with the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), has successfully launched an Agni-Prime (Agni-P) Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM)  from a rail-based mobile launcher system, under a full operational scenario. This next generation missile is designed to cover a range up to 2,000 km and is equipped with various advanced features.

 

While the MoD was silent on this aspect, the Agni-P has been developed specifically for nuclear strikes against targets in Pakistan. Its range of 1,000-2,000 kilometres (km) is too short to reach targets in the Chinese mainland, but can comfortably cover all of Pakistan’s territory. 

 

The Agni-P will replace the Prithvi, Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles in India’s arsenal – ballistic missiles that were built two decades ago with technologies now considered outdated.

 

While the Agni-P will be the workhorse of the nuclear deterrent against Pakistan, the Agni-5 will be the mainstay of the anti-China nuclear arsenal.

 

“Agni-P is a new generation, advanced variant of Agni class of missiles. It is a canisterised missile with range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms,” stated an MoD press release.

 

The Agni-P will enter service as a two-stage, solid propellant missile. Both stages will have composite rocket motors and guidance systems with electro-mechanical actuators. The missiles will be guided to their targets by inertial navigation systems (INS) that are based on advanced ring-laser gyroscopes.

 

The Agni-P and Agni-5 ballistic missiles trace their origins back to the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) that then DRDO chief, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, launched in the early 1980s.

 

The launch was witnessed by the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Strategic Forces Command and senior officials from DRDO and the Indian Army.

 

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO, SFC and the armed forces on the successful test of the Agni (P) Intermediate Range Agni-Prime missile. This flight test has put India in the group of select nations which have deployed a cannister-based launch system from the rail network.