India Successfully Test-Fires Agni 5: All You Need To Know About 5,000-Km Range Nuclear Capable Missile

India successfully test-fired the Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5 from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha, on Wednesday.

"Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile ‘Agni-5’ was successfully test-fired from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha on August 20, 2025. The launch validated all operational and technical parameters. It was carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC)," the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

The Agni-5 is part of a series of indigenously developed Indian ballistic missiles designed to strengthen the country’s defence capabilities.

The Agni-5 missile can bring almost the entire Asia including the northernmost part of China as well as some regions in Europe under its striking range.

The test-firing of the strategic asset came around three-and-half months after the military conflict between India and Pakistan.

The Agni-5 is an indigenously developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km. It is part of India’s broader missile programme that includes several short- and medium-range systems. The missile is designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet long-term national security needs.

India test-fired Agni-5 missile in March last year as well.

The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed.

Last month, India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles Prithvi-II and Agni-I.

Last year's trial conducted on March 11, 2024, was labelled 'Mission Divyastra’. The test was significant as it featured multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) technology. MIRV allows a single missile to carry and launch multiple nuclear warheads. Each warhead can be directed to a different target. The warheads follow separate trajectories and can strike targets hundreds of kilometres apart.

The test of the solid-fuelled, three-stage Agni-5 was a routine training trial carried out periodically by the SFC of already inducted missiles, according to an official quoted by The Times of India .

According to the officials, the MIRV-capable Agni-5 will take a few more years to become fully operational. More tests are also planned before its induction into the defence system.

Currently, India’s SFC, which manages the country’s nuclear arsenal, operates only single-warhead ballistic missiles. The SFC was established in 2003.

(With PTI inputs)