India operates one of the world’s broadest missile inventories, spanning long-range strategic weapons, supersonic cruise missiles, layered air-defence systems and battlefield tactical rockets. Most of these systems trace their origins to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), launched in 1983 to build indigenous design and production capability.

Categories of Indian missiles

  • Cruise missiles: the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, deployed in land, naval and air-launched versions, with hypersonic variants in development.
  • Ballistic missiles: the Agni family (Agni-I through Agni-V and the MIRV-capable Agni-V) providing strategic reach, alongside the shorter-range Prithvi series.
  • Surface-to-air missiles: the indigenous Akash system, the Indo-Israeli Barak-8 / MRSAM, and the Quick Reaction SAM (QRSAM) for mobile air defence.
  • Anti-tank guided missiles: Nag, HELINA (helicopter-launched) and the man-portable systems that give the Army precision anti-armour capability.
  • Tactical & battlefield missiles: Pralay and Prahaar quasi-ballistic systems for conventional strikes at operational ranges.

Strategic deterrence

India’s longer-range ballistic missiles anchor its nuclear triad and its declared no-first-use posture, while a two-tier Ballistic Missile Defence programme (AAD and PAD interceptors, with the next-generation Project Kusha under development) adds a defensive layer. Together these systems make the missile domain central to India’s deterrence and conventional strike doctrine.

Indigenisation

Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives, an increasing share of India’s missiles are designed by DRDO and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and private partners, reducing import dependence and opening export opportunities — most visibly through BrahMos.