India had issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) for a long-range missile test in the Bay of Bengal between 6 May and 9 May 2026. Such notices are typically issued ahead of missile launches or major military exercises. With this timing coinciding with the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor, many analysts believed that India could be preparing to test the Agni-6 missile. Also, recently, DRDO chief Samir V Kamat stated that DRDO is fully prepared to test a missile with a range exceeding 10,000 km and could undertake this mission at any time, subject to government approval. Naturally, this led many to believe that India was preparing to launch an Agni-6.[1]

Ultimately, on 8 May 2026, DRDO successfully flight-tested an advanced Agni missile equipped with a MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) system from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island. The missile carried multiple payloads targeting different targets across the Indian Ocean region, with tracking conducted via ground- and ship-based systems. Flight data confirmed that all mission objectives were achieved, reaffirming India’s capability to strike multiple strategic targets with a single missile.[2]

Earlier in May 2024, DRDO conducted a successful Agni-5 MIRV test under Mission Divyastra, marking a major leap in India’s strategic deterrence capability and demonstrating its ability to deploy multiple independently targetable warheads from a single missile.[3] The recent test was the second such test about MIRV. It looks like, with two successful tests, DRDO could be operationalising this system in the near future. It is not known whether they plan to conduct a few more such tests before handing over the system to Strategic Forces for induction.

MIRV technology enables a single ballistic missile to carry and deliver multiple warheads, each capable of striking different targets independently. Developed during the Cold War, MIRV technology was first operationally deployed by the United States through the LGM-30 Minuteman III, fundamentally transforming strategic missile warfare by increasing strike capability. Today, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia possess operational MIRV capabilities.

Pakistan claims that its medium-range ballistic missile, Ababeel, is equipped with MIRV technology. According to reports, the missile has a range of around 2,200 km and is believed to be capable of carrying multiple warheads. They could have possibly tested a MIRV-capable system in 2017. However,........

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