NEW DELHI: India on Saturday announced the successful flight-test of an Advanced Agni missile equipped with a Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) system, marking a major boost to the country’s strategic defence capabilities.The missile was tested from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on Friday. The missile was flight-tested with multiple payloads aimed at different targets spread across a large geographical area in the Indian Ocean Region.The government said telemetry and tracking operations were carried out through multiple ground-based and ship-based stations, which monitored the missile’s trajectory from launch until the impact of all payloads.“Flight data confirmed that all mission objectives were met during the trial,” the governement said.The successful test demonstrated India’s capability to engage multiple strategic targets using a single missile system through MIRV technology, which allows one missile to carry and deliver several warheads to separate targets.The missile has been developed by laboratories under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with support from industries across the country.Senior DRDO scientists and Indian Army personnel witnessed the trial.Defence minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, the Indian Army and industry partners for the successful test.Singh said the achievement would add “an incredible capability” to India’s defence preparedness amid evolving security challenges and growing threat perceptions.The test comes as India continues to strengthen its strategic deterrence capabilities and expand indigenous defence technologies under its domestic military modernisation push.