India conducts first test flight of domestically developed missile that can carry multiple warheads

NEW DELHI — India has successfully conducted its first test flight of a domestically developed missile that can carry multiple warheads, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday.

The missile is equipped with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, Modi said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

India has been developing its medium- and long-range missile systems since the 1990s as its strategic competition with China grows.

In 2021, India successfully tested Agni-5, a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,125 miles) that is believed to be capable of targeting nearly all of China. Agni missiles are long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.

India is also able to strike anywhere in neighboring Pakistan, its archrival with which it has fought three wars since they gained independence from British colonialists in 1947.