India carries out first rail-based launch of Agni-Prime ballistic missile

Indiaʼs medium-range Agni-Prime missile is seen fired from a rail-based mobile launcher system. (PIB)

India has carried out the first rail-based launch of its Agni-Prime medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM), marking a significant mobility milestone in the country's strategic deterrence capabilities.

The test was carried out on 24 September by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC), the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement released on the next day.

It was carried out using a rail-based mobile launcher “under full operational scenario”, the ministry said.

Accompanying the statement was a video that showed the launch sequence of the missile. It begins with a footage of the MRBM in the vertical launch position, followed by what appears to be a compressed gas-powered cold launch sequence that ejected the missile from its canister.

This is followed by an ignition of the missile's first-stage solid rocket motor, which took place momentarily after the cold launch sequence.

Other than the launch method, the Agni-Prime missile depicted in the video of the launch sequence is similar in appearance to the MRBM that was test-fired from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the northeastern coast of Odisha in April 2024.

The rail-based launch method provides the weapon with “cross-country mobility, rapid reaction capability, and low-visibility deployment”, the Indian MoD said in its statement on 24 September 2025.

The Agni-Prime is a two-stage, solid-propellant, nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile measuring 10 m in length, and it was first tested by the DRDO in 2021.

The MRBM features a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle (MaRV) and improved accuracy and survivability compared with earlier variants in the Agni series, such as the Agni-II.