India officially joined the exclusive group of nations that have the technology of ballistic rockets launched by railways. The successful test of the AGNI-Prime rocket, which was carried out on September 24 from a modified wagon, marks significant strategic progress for the country’s defense forces.
The rocket was developed jointly by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization) and the Strategic Forces Command and tested in a “complete operating scenario”, which further strengthens the credibility of the Indian nuclear deterrence.
The main advantage of the railway system lies in its survival. By using the country’s huge railway network, which comprises more than 60,000 kilometers and contains numerous tunnels, the rockets can be easily moved and hidden, which makes them extremely difficult to understand, which are hard to pursue and destroy for an opponent.
The Agni-Prime rocket with a range of up to 2,000 km can achieve the entire area of Pakistan and strategic destinations in southwestern China, two neighboring countries with which India has geopolitical tensions and territorial disputes.
This development takes place against the background of the increasing modernization of the Chinese military forces and regional tensions. The initiative places India on the same level as countries as China, which also develops a similar system, and North Korea, which has already carried out such tests.
Railway mobility offers a relatively inexpensive and extremely effective way to protect nuclear assets, which changes the strategic calculations and the balance of power in South Asia.
Those: The War Zone | Photo: x @drdo_india | This content was created with the help of AI and checked by the editorial team
Intermediate Range Agni-Prime Missile was successfully tested on 24 Sep 2025 from a Rail based Mobile launcher. This will be a force multiplier to strategic forces, with a game changer road cum rail missile system pic.twitter.com/bEmDQoHNUf
— DRDO (@DRDO_India) September 25, 2025
