India tests advanced Agni missile with re-entry vehicle tech

India has conducted the successful trial flight of an advanced Agni missile with a Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) system, according to an official statement.

The missile was flight-tested with “multiple payloads” aimed at different targets, “spatially distributed” over a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean region, the Indian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The test was conducted from Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha, on Friday.

The ministry said flight data confirmed that all “mission objectives were met during the trial.”

“With this successful trial, India once again demonstrated the capability to target multiple strategic targets using a single missile system,” it said.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the new missile will add an “incredible capability to the country’s defense preparedness against the growing threat perceptions.”

According to the US-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, MIRVs were developed in the early 1960s to permit a missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to different targets.