NEW DELHI: India has successfully test-fired a domestically developed ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday.

Modi said he was “proud” the launch of “ the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology“, in comments on social media platform X.

The MIRV technology enables the Agni-5 to carry several nuclear warheads at once, so they can split up and hit different targets.

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Modi did not give further details of the launch, but India has previously test-fired multiple Agni-5 missiles, developed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation.

Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said on X that India had “joined the select group of nations” capable of the missile technology.

Agni, meaning “fire” in Sanskrit, is the name given to a series of rockets India developed as part of a guided missile development project launched in 1983.

India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.