India conducts first test of long-range hypersonic missile

India conducted a test of its first long-range hypersonic missile on 16 November. (Press Information Bureau )

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted a flight test of the country's first long-range hypersonic missile, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 16 November. The missile was launched from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha, on India's eastern coast.

“This hypersonic missile is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km for the armed forces,” the MoD said. “The missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains. The flight data obtained from down-range ship stations confirmed successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with high degree of accuracy.”

According to the MoD, the long-range hypersonic missile was developed by DRDO laboratories, the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex (formerly the DRDO Missile Complex) in Hyderabad, as well as local industry.

An image of the test distributed to media by the Indian government's Press Information Bureau showed the missile being launched from a mobile launch vehicle. In this image, the canister cap – designed to protect the missile in storage and transportation – appeared lodged in the missile's nose during its launch.

The image also showed that both the missile and the canister were labelled ‘LR-02', possibly indicating that the latest test was India's second of this capability. It is possible, but not confirmed, that the initial test in 2023 featured a weapon known as the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, which the MoD confirmed in its 2023 end-of-year-review.

The MoD said the test of the long-range hypersonic missile was a success but provided no additional details about the test or the missile. The DRDO had not responded to Janes at the time of publication.