India Announces ‘Historic’ Long-Range Hypersonic Missile Test Flight

India has announced what it is describing as its first successful test of a long-range hypersonic missile, which occurred Saturday night.

India’s defense ministry said it was launched from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of the eastern state of Odisha. “The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy,” a statement said.

“India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile,” Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said, hailing it as historic.

For decades, India has feared a multi-front war with China and Pakistan. By modernizing its military, along with investments in nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles, New Delhi could be on a pathway to deter or manage conflict with either one of its nuclear-armed neighbors. 

What is clear is that with this long-range, hypersonic test, India joins a small group of nations who possess and are capable of successfully deploying such advanced missiles. 

Singh boasted of this in his statement, saying India is now among “select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies.” The United States, Russia, and China also possess them.

One Indian defense analyst, Ranjit Kumar, has told a regional publication:

“(The) hypersonic missile will add more teeth to the Indian missile firepower. (The) Indian Armed Forces already possess over 300 km range (supersonic) Brahmos cruise missile and over 5,000 km range Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, but the latest, over 1,500 km range hypersonic missile will … give more confidence to the Indian military to be able to hit the target with sure success.”

“At a time when India is surrounded with adversaries possessing long-range ballistic missiles, the latest hypersonic missile will deter them from launching a preemptive strike on Indian locations,” the Indian military expert continued.

FINALLY! 🔥🔥

India chooses the dead of night to test its first hypersonic missile — a 1,500+ km range weapon capable of speeds of up to 9x speed of sound. pic.twitter.com/d85ntQk8PW

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) November 17, 2024

All nuclear armed powers in the region routinely flex their military might. For example, this week China hosted a huge airshow which showcased the significant capabilities of its J-35A stealth fighter jet, alongside various attack drones.